The 5th Annual Bob Marley birthday celebration took place at two locations in Bakersfield:  on Feb.1 at The Tower Bar and Grill and Feb. 2 at the Temblor Brewing Company.

The celebration acknowledged the Jamaican singer-songwriter, Bob Marley’s, 74th birthday, which was on Feb. 6.

Mento Buru, The Jay Smith Group, Crimson Skye, Vince Galindo, DJ Mikey and others paid tribute to Marley’s songs allowing people to enjoy his music at the event.

It was a day to remember and honor the king of reggae that died in 1981.

“Bob Marley is an inspiration to me because he had freedom of speech,” said Stacy Marie, a Bob Marley fan.

Mento Buru played “One Love” which brought people to sing and dance along.

“We call it ‘One Love’ because that’s his most important message,” explained Amy Sanders. “We think it’s important to spread his message about human rights, love, and spirituality to the world,” she continued.

The celebration continued with Crimson Skye playing “Jamming” and other feature songs.

Maria Salazar expressed how “Don’t worry be Happy” is one of her favorite songs because at the end of the day she knows that everything is going to be alright.

The Jay Smith Group played some jazz featuring songs including “No Woman No Cry,” “Jamming,” and “Is This Love”.

“It was my very first time here coming to this event and really enjoyed the music,” Emily Sanders said.

She mentioned she would like to come to this event with her friends.

Pete Anderson said, “It was a nice event to come and have a good time with friends and have a few drinks to celebrate Bob Marley birthday.”

Anderson also said that his favorite quote from Bob Marley is, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”

During the event, people gathered to dance when songs like “Redemption Song” was played by The Jay Smith Group.

Although it was an enjoyable evening for many, some thought different.

“It was hard to walk through all the people, especially when you have kids,” said Emily Loran.