Bob Marley & The Wailers — Live at the Oakland Auditorium, 1979

This filmed concert documents Bob Marley & The Wailers live at the Oakland Auditorium in California on November 30, 1979, during the North American leg supporting the album Survival. By this point Marley stood at his peak, the global voice of roots reggae, performing a repertoire that leaned heavily political and pan-African. The full concert opens with “Positive Vibration” and “Wake Up and Live,” then moves through the militant anthems of the era — “Them Belly Full,” “Ambush in the Night,” “War / No More Trouble,” “Africa Unite” — alongside the classics “I Shot the Sheriff,” “No Woman No Cry,” “Exodus,” “Jamming” and “Is This Love.” The I-Threes handle the backing harmonies, the Barrett brothers’ rhythm section locks in the signature one-drop, and the night became famous for an impromptu encore joined by Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood. This live recording captures the band’s stage energy in late 1979, barely eighteen months before Marley’s death, in a California hall firmly on his side. It stands as a valuable testament to roots reggae in concert at the height of its powers, both as music and as a statement of purpose.