Nas, Damian Marley tour together for ‘Distant Relatives’ collaboration

Rapper Nas and reggae artist Damian Marley are teaming up for another round of touring. But instead of promoting individual works, the focus this time is the upcoming collaboration “Distant Relatives.”

The tour officially launches with a May 21 at Arcata Community Center in Arcata, CA, but Nas and Marley will share a stage a couple weeks earlier on May 2 for a set at SunFest in West Palm Beach, FL. The summer-long calendar closes similarly — with a festival performance on August 1 at Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, CT.

Along the way, the co-headliners will hit the stage for gigs on May 28 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA; June 9 at Waller Creek Amphitheatre in Austin, TX; and July 31 at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn, NY.

Besides their sets at SunFest and Vibes, Nas and Marley also have national festival appearances lined up for May 31 at UCLA’s Jazz Reggae Festival in Los Angeles, CA, and June 11 at Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN.

Public onsales for the upcoming tour begin over the April 2-4 weekend. Ticket prices on the primary market vary depending on the venue, but most Nas/Marley ducats are in the $30 to $50 range. Rising artist Nneka is booked to open more than a dozen dates throughout the venture.

But the tour partners aren’t limiting their trek to North America. After completing a majority of their planned U.S. dates, Nas and Marley will head overseas for four mid-summer weeks to complete a festival-heavy European jaunt. One highlight on the 16-date international itinerary is a July 10 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Nas and Marley have toured together in the past, but the musical collaborators will release their first album together, “Distant Relatives,” on May 18.The effort is Marley’s first studio record in about five years years and Nas’ most recent release since 2008.

Damian & Nas itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)