Ziggy Marley sings into the microphone and holds his one arm out

Do The Reggae Tour Brought a Little Island Feel to St. Louis’ The Factory

October 9, 2025 Carrie Zukoski

-by Carrie Zukoski

Ziggy Marley and Burning Spear’s Do The Reggae Tour landed at The Factory in St. Louis County on this cool October 8, 2025 evening.

Fans of all ages came decked out from their Sunday best to island gear to listen and groove to the reggae sounds of the venerable Burning Spear and the acclaimed Ziggy Marley.

The night began with an hour-long set by Grammy Award-winning Burning Spear, now age 80, and his backing band. With his all white beard, Winston Rodney (aka Burning Spear) appeared on stage after his full band had begun performing the timely “Door Peep,” about standing up to police persecution and social injustices. This brought many in the seated crowd to rise and hold their fists in the air. While Rodney started out slow, he became more animated throughout the set, playing his conga drums and encouraging others to get up as he jumped around the stage. He ended with the 1980 song “African Postman” to the delight of everyone in the room and had most everyone swaying and grooving to the rasta jam.

After a short break, Ziggy Marley strode and danced onto the stage and greeted the crowd with a big smile. Marley, who has been performing the majority of his 56 years (57 this month), wasted no time getting down to business and opened his 90-minute set with “I Will Be Glad.” Several in the crowd moved to the front of the room to sway and bounce to the pulse of the steady, strong, layered rhythms. He stated, “You can’t grow if you don’t know your past” as the band slid into “Tomorrow People.” It’s easy to see why Marley has eight Grammys under his belt as his songs lift and transcend, spreading love, unity, and, yes, of course, resistance. He also covered “One Love” (The Wailers) as well as “Jamming” and ended on the upbeat spiritual “Three Little Birds,” both covers of Bob Marley & The Wailers.