Bob Marley Immersive Experience to Land in US Next Year

Images of the late reggae pioneer Bob Marley appear at the press launch for the exhibit "Bob Marley One Love Experience" at the Saatchi Gallery in London on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP)
Images of the late reggae pioneer Bob Marley appear at the press launch for the exhibit "Bob Marley One Love Experience" at the Saatchi Gallery in London on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP)
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Bob Marley Immersive Experience to Land in US Next Year

Images of the late reggae pioneer Bob Marley appear at the press launch for the exhibit "Bob Marley One Love Experience" at the Saatchi Gallery in London on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP)
Images of the late reggae pioneer Bob Marley appear at the press launch for the exhibit "Bob Marley One Love Experience" at the Saatchi Gallery in London on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP)

A massive immersive experience celebrating Bob Marley is heading for its US premiere early next year, complete with photographs, lots of music and even a pair of the reggae giant's footwear. 

The multi-room exhibit “Bob Marley: One Love Experience” will open in Los Angeles on Jan. 27 at Ovation Hollywood, following runs in London and Toronto. The 15,000-square foot (1,393-square meter) experience includes previously unseen photographs, concert videos, lyric sheets, rare memorabilia like guitars, a soccer jersey, sneakers and art that highlight Marley’s influence. There are also a Marley-branded jukebox and a few foosball tables. One area celebrates the Marley family's legacy and philanthropy. 

Inside, a 2,000-square foot (185-square meter) One Love Forest promises to take visitors on a trip to Jamaica in a multi-sensory environment. Fans are greeted with headphones at the Soul Shakedown studio to groove out to the curated playlist in the silent disco. Tickets are available exclusively via Fever on Dec. 7. 

Born in rural Jamaica in 1945, Marley rose from the gritty Kingston slum of Trench Town to global stardom in the 1970s with hits like “No Woman, No Cry,” ″Get Up, Stand Up,” and “I Shot the Sheriff.” His lyrics promoting social justice and African unity made him an icon in Jamaica and other countries. He died from cancer in 1981 at age 36. 

“After being in London and Toronto, it’s going to be amazing bringing the experience here to the US for the first time and just steps from Daddy’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Cedella Marley, CEO of Bob Marley Group, said in a statement. The exhibit is produced by the Marley Family and Terrapin Station Entertainment. 

Immersive experiences are all the rage these days, with traveling, projection-driven exhibits of King Tut, Vincent Van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet, just to name a few. 



Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
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Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards

Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody for at least several more days as a US judge considers his bid to be released on $50-million bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks.
After a nearly two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said on Friday he would rule on Combs' bid for home detention "promptly."
Combs' lawyers this month proposed a bail package backed by his $48-million Florida mansion. It also called for Combs to be monitored around the clock by security personnel and to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses.
Combs has been denied bail three times since his arrest, with multiple judges citing a risk he might tamper with witnesses. The rapper and producer pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo disputed prosecutors' contention that a 2016 hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, showed there was a risk he would act violently if released.
"There's a zero percent chance of that happening," Agnifilo said.
Combs apologized in May after CNN broadcast the video showing him kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway. Agnifilo said he had never denied the incident, but said the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.
"It's our defense to these charges that this was a toxic, loving 11-year relationship," Agnifilo told the court.
Earlier, prosecutor Christine Slavik said Combs tried to bribe hotel staff to delete the surveillance footage - demonstrating he was committed to concealing his crimes by illegal means.
Even from behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs had communicated with his lawyers through unauthorized channels, and sought to run a social-media campaign to sway potential jurors, Slavik said.
"The defendant here has demonstrated that either he cannot or will not follow rules," Slavik said. "The defendant, simply put, cannot be trusted."
Regarding Combs' attempted social-media campaign, defense lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said he had a right to respond to news coverage of the case that could paint him unfavorably for potential jurors.
Upon being led into the hearing by the US Marshals service, Combs, wearing a beige jail-issued outfit, blew kisses toward his family seated in the second row of the courtroom's audience.
COMBS DENIES WRONGDOING
Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called "freak offs" with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines. Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
Combs' lawyers questioned why jail was needed when federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month allowed the pre-trial release on a $10-million bond of former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking.
The US Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the charges against Combs, countered that Jeffries is 80 years old with no criminal history, whereas Combs has prior arrests.
They also said federal agents recovered rifles with defaced serial numbers from Combs' residences. This week, Subramanian ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes that Combs took in jail, pending a decision on whether they were subject to attorney-client privilege.
A government investigator photographed the notes during a sweep of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Combs has been jailed.