Easy Star All-Stars

With musical versatility, instrumental prowess, beautiful vocal harmonies, and a premier rhythm section, Easy Star All-Stars has become one of the top international reggae acts of the last two decades. They’ve toured more than 30 countries on six continents, bringing together fans of reggae, classic rock, dub, and indie rock into one big family.

The band was founded in 1997 in New York City and rapidly became known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in a reggae style. The series began with Dub Side of the Moon, (2003), the critically acclaimed reggae reworking of the classic Pink Floyd album, and continued in 2006 with Radiodread, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band (2009), and Easy Star’s Thrillah (2012), as well as the remix album, Dubber Side of the Moon (2010) and two original collections.

In 2023, the band released its first new tribute album in 11 years, Ziggy Stardub, a complete reggae re-imagining of David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars album. Featured guest performers include Macy Gray, Maxi Priest, Steel Pulse, Fishbone, Mortimer, The Skints, Samory I, Naomi Cowan, SunDub, Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Vernon Reid (Living Colour.)

Michael Goldwasser, a co-founder of the band and producer and arranger of the tribute albums, told Billboard magazine in April 2023 that these albums are very special to him. “I put in many interesting details to give the listener something different to focus on each time,” he said. “I treat these albums with reverence and humor; music should be fun, but I have reverence for the original material, and anyone listening will recognize both of these traits. People have told me that listening to our tribute albums got them into reggae. That’s part of Easy Star’s mission: to break down barriers. If you can open your mind and your heart to different music, you can open your mind and your heart to different people.”

It’s that Easy.