Reggae music opened up the world for Willie Stewart.
It’s the language of his life and his career. As the drummer for the band Third World, Stewart co-produced 13 of their albums, five of which were nominated for Grammy Awards.
Third World is one of the longest running reggae bands of all time. They’re known as the reggae ambassadors of Jamaica.
And Stewart was at the heart of the band for more than 20 years. He played with Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, and Carlos Santana.
He’s used his connection to reggae to teach music, especially at a time when music classes are being reduced in public schools.
Stewart has produced huge concerts for everyone from Nelson Mandela to Amnesty International. He helped put together February’s outdoor music festival, Reggae Genealogy.
Stewart will be speaking at a panel about reggae music’s evolution at Island SPACE Caribbean Museum in Plantation this Saturday. A sort of warmup for next month’s inaugural music festival.
On the Jan. 16 episode of Sundial, Willie takes us through his own musical genealogy and Jamaica's.
On Sundial's previous episode, the filmmakers behind WLRN TV’s latest documentary Never Drop the Ball told us how the Negro Leagues helped desegregate baseball — and America.
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.
