The Newport Waterfront Events at the Newport Yachting Center announces Toots and The Maytals will headline the 2013 Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series’ Summer Kick-Off Party to take place the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 25th.  Joining Toots and The Maytals will be Anders Osborne and local favorites, The Ravers.  Tickets for the first of the 16 Sunset Music Series concerts announced to-date are general admission and can be purchase for $24 in advance and $36 the day of the show.
 
Toots & The Maytals are considered legends of ska and reggae music.  Led by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, the band produced three classic albums and a string of hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including “Do the Reggay”, “Pressure Drop”, “54 – 46 Was My Number” and “Monkey Man”.  The band was featured in The Harder They Come film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff in 1972.  The group continued to enjoy international hits with “Funky Kingston” in 1973 and “Reggae Got Soul” in 1976 and during the reggae-punk and ska revival in the late 1970s, The Specials included “Monkey Man” on its debut album and The Clash produced their version of “Pressure Drop”.  Toots & The Maytals won a Grammy for “Best Reggae Album” in 2005 for True Love which featured the band’s classics with legendary musicians including Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson and Eric Clapton.  In recent years, the group has toured with the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys. The band’s most recent release is entitled Unplugged on Strawberry Hill.
 
The gates will open for Toots & The Maytals – Summer Kick-Off Party, at 4:00 p.m. with music starting immediately with The Ravers on The Point Stage followed by Anders Osborne and then the headliner.  For details about the other Sunset Music Series concerts that will be held throughout the summer, as well as the annual Newport Waterfront Reggae Festival slated for Saturday, August 10th.
 
The Newport Yachting Center is located on the waterfront in the heart of historic downtown Newport on America’s Cup Avenue.  The venue features a covered concert tent and ample open air space with stunning views of Newport Harbor.  Guests can enjoy “The Point”, a dockside lounge with expanded bars and good eats from Julian’s, before, during and after the shows.