Words by Jesse Serwer—
Fresh off a summer tour that saw them hit up every corner of the West Coast of the U.S.—including a stop at Burning Man, and a few European festivals in between— Jamaica’s Rootz Underground are gearing up to release their second album, Return of the Righteous Vol. 1, in February of 2014. Ahead of its release, the group has let loose a collaboration with the legendary Toots Hibbert, called “Kingston Town.” A Jamaicanized version of “The House of the Rising Sun,” this “Kingston Town” (not to be confused with the Lord Creator classic popularized internationally by UB40) pairs the bluesy riffs from the Animals’ classic version with some JA-specific lyrics for a Western movie soundtrack-type feel
Stream “Kingston Town” below, then check out a video featuring Rootz Underground performing the song with Toots in Kingston. And speaking of Toots, we’re wishing him a healthy recovery from last May’s unfortunate incident in Richmond, Virginia. His absence from the road is a huge loss for reggae, so we hope to see him back out there as soon as he’s ready and able.