Reggae legend Don Carlos coming to Grass Valley

May 25—The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley will be hosting Don Carlos at the Marisa Funk Theater on June 3.

This reggae musician will also be accompanied by two opening acts: Kailash and Selecta Prime. For over 40 years, Carlos has been one of the most consistent and busiest touring acts in reggae music, according to organizers.

Carlos, born Euvin Spencer, was raised in Western Kingston, Jamaica, in a district notoriously known as Waterhouse. The area has served as the musical spawning ground for some of reggae's greatest talents such as King Tubby, Black Uhuru, The Jays, Junior Reid, and King Jammy.

Carlos began his singing career in 1973 as one of the founding members of Black Uhuru, alongside Derrick "Ducky" Simpson and Garth Dennis, who later went on to join the Wailing Souls. As part of this trio, Carlos sang lead on the highly acclaimed "Love Crisis" album for producer Prince Jammy in 1977, which was later re-released and re-titled as "Black Sounds of Freedom."

A year after the group's groundbreaking debut, Carlos decided to leave Black Uhuru in pursuit of a solo career. He spent three years developing his songwriting and grooming his vocal style and by May 1981 he was ready to release "Suffering," his first solo album. This strong release is said to have taken the fraternity by storm and marked the first album to be released by the Negus Roots label. "Suffering" was a massive hit in Africa, selling unprecedented units, however the circulating copies were bootlegged and Carlos never received proper royalties, organizers said.

Carlos went on to produce five top 10 hits between 1982 and 1985 during a period referred to as "dance hall mania." These titles include "Late Night Blues," "Nice Time Tonight," "Dice Cup," "Hog & Goat," "I'm Not Getting Crazy," and "Spread Out."

True to the old musical adage "what goes around comes back around," Carlos requested to be reinstated to his former position as lead vocalist in a revival of Black Uhuru in California. This reunion with Simpson and Dennis led to the 1991 album title "Now," which garnered a Grammy nomination.

Six years and four albums later, Carlos returned to his solo career from Black Uhuru and later joined forces with the California-based Reggae Angels. Reggae Angels backed Carlos for four years and subsequently evolved into a new band known as Dub Vision. Carlos has also been working as a special guest with Slightly Stoopid for many years, performing in a number of songs and appearances with the group.

Nowadays, Carlos can still be found churning out solid, melodic roots reggae, organizers said. His popularity has continued to grow and bookers consider him to be one of the most demanded roots reggae artists in the business.

Carlos' concert, with openers Kailash and Selecta Prime, will be held at The Center for the Arts on June 3 at 314 W. Main St. in Grass Valley. Doors open at 7 p.m. with music set to begin at 8 p.m. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit thecenterforthearts.org.