Toots Hibbert is a living legend whose career spans every development in Jamaican music—from ska through rock-steady to reggae. He formed the Maytals as a teen in 1962 and began recording at Kingston's famous Studio One, where just about everyone who is anyone from the period, including Bob Marley, got their start. From the group's first release, Hallelujah-energetic straight-from-church singing melded with the band's "spiritual" ska beat-this new type of music became a sensation in dancehalls and on records. But just as the Maytals were poised for stardom, Toots was arrested for possession of marijuana and incarcerated for 18 months, despite his plea of innocence. The band returned with a vengeance in 1968, as the era of ska was morphing into the more complex sounds of reggae. Powerful songs like "54-46 (That's My Number)," the story of Toots' arrest set to a powerful downbeat, resulted in some of the greatest rock steady/reggae singles of all time and set the stage for the Maytals' exalted position as international reggae stars. Hit after hit followed in the '60s and '70s, hammered home by the band's reputation as phenomenal live band, fusing reggae, soul, gospel and even country into a dynamic original combination. After a brief break in the '80s, the band reformed, earning Grammy nominations and re-cementing their status in the pantheon of reggae greats. The latest album, True Love, features a host of musical friends—Keith Richards, Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Eric Clapton, the Skatalites and Trey Anastasio among them. We are proud to welcome Toots & the Maytals to Santa Fe.