(Editor's note: Bob Marley The Experience is currently on hold. Bob Marley The Show runs Tuesday through Saturday. Check the website for the latest information.)
The Man. The Music. The Legend.
Bob Marley is reggae music’s biggest star. The artist and his band The Wailers, from Kingston, Jamaica, have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Time named 1977’s Exodus the greatest album of the 20th Century. And Rolling Stone named Marley one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Marley’s short life ended at just 36 years old in 1981, but his music has lived on in acclaim long after his death. And now Las Vegas celebrates the superstar, his music and his life with the first-ever immersive experience, Bob Marley Hope Road, at Mandalay Bay. “To actually see Hope Road come to life, vision to reality … I just feel excited for everyone to experience it,” said Cedella Marley, Bob Marley’s daughter and executive producer of BMHR. “I’m not sure if Daddy ever performed in Vegas but Vegas is the mecca and everyone wants to perform here, and unfortunately he could not be here, but when you come to Hope Road you’ll feel his spirit. … You’ll say, ‘I felt Bob.’ It’s the best we could do to bring you his spirit and experience him.”
Hope Road The Experience
During the day, fans and ones that want to get to know the superstar have the chance to immerse themselves in all things Marley beginning with the journey down Hope Road, a hall filled with the history of his life and music through LED projections. The experience continues through a series of rooms like Dance Hall, where guests can grab a cocktail at the bar and get down to a live DJ playing reggae music. Other highlights inside the various rooms include trying your hand at playing the bongos inside Jammin’ Tree, remixing Marley’s own music inside the recording studio set up in the city of Trenchtown, and feeling the mystic vibrations inside the moving Cathedral room where waterfalls flow using innovative technology.
Hope Road The Show
At night, Bob Marley Hope Road turns into a ticketed 75-minute show guided through the same spaces as the day, but coming to life through a cast of dozens of singers, actors and dancers, many direct from Jamaica. The nonseated show begins inside Dance Hall, where you’ll learn about Jamaican culture and language. The group then moves through the rooms to watch amazing performances, including aerialists that fly and twist around the huge tree structure inside Jammin’ Tree to hit songs like “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and “Is This Love.” Inside the streets of Trenchtown, you’ll catch the DJ playing inside a 1973 VW bus that was restored to match the original tour bus of Marley and The Wailers. Inside Cathedral, you’ll witness a moving performance by dancers that seem to shake the room with powerful vibrations set to “No Woman, No Cry” and “Exodus.” Inside the last room, guests are given 3D glasses to experience high-tech magic that brings Bob Marley to life as he takes the stage and performs his music, with the mind-blowing visuals seeming to encompass the room.
One Love
Bob Marley Hope Road is a powerful, immersive experience that uses storytelling, multisensory environments and electrifying music and live performances to celebrate a man that used his music to not only entertain but to make a positive social impact on the world. Now is the perfect time to experience the peace and love Marley embodied and his hope that, through music, he could change the world for the better.
Mandalay Bay, 877.632.7400. hoperoad.com
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