Toots & The Maytals Return with Flip & Twist,
U.S. Tour This Spring!

Celebrate 4/20 with Limited Edition Packages, Including a USB Joint Packed w/ Limited Edition Stash Box + FREE “Perfect Lover” MP3!


Reggae legends Toots and The Maytals are happy to announce the release of the band’s latest record Flip & Twist, released today digitally and in stores May 18. In honor of today’s national holiday, Toots is releasing a special, 4/20-themed limited edition package, which includes a joint-shaped USB drive loaded with Flip & Twist, a Toots Stash Box, the physical CD of the album, and a variety of other gifts. The package is available via the band’s website along with digital copies of the album. Lucky fans will also be able to purchase a limited special bundle for $500 that includes a dinner and private acoustic performance by Toots on May 17.

For a taste of what the full album holds, the band is offering a FREE MP3 download of the song “Perfect Lover” available for download HERE. Feel free to post and share!

One of reggae’s founding fathers, Toots Hibbert has been one of the leading figures for over four decades. Rising to prominence in the ’60s alongside greats like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Toots’ soulful voice has earned him comparisons to Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett making him one of the most respected and versatile artists in these genres. And on Flip & Twist, Toots delves into his soul and R&B influences, creating a record that’s as much Kingston, Jamaica as it is 1960s Detroit. The album’s opener “Almighty Way,” is a modern day gospel-soul classic. “Fool For You” finds Toots at his most vulnerable, creating a soulful ballad a la The Four Tops. Toots also tackles Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” turning the song into a contemporary reggae classic. And on “Jungle” and “Maybe Yow” Toots delves into dance music, building catchy melodies catchy hip-hop beats.

This Spring, don’t miss Toots & The Maytals as they tour the U.S., and keep an eye out for the band’s upcoming videos!


Toots & The Maytals Spring Tour:
04/29: Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Theatre
04/30: New Port Richey, FL @ Bourbon Street Night Club
05/01: New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
05/02: Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
05/02: Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
05/04: Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
05/05: Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
05/06: Santa Fe, NM @ Brewery
05/07: Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
05/08: Colorado Springs, CO @ Colorado College
05/09: Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
05/11: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
05/12: Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
05/13: San Diego, CA @ SoundWave
05/14: Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Outdoor Pool
05/15: Hermosa Beach, CA @ Saint Rocke
05/16: West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
05/18: San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
05/19: Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
05/20: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
05/21: Seattle, WA @ Showbox At The Market
05/22: Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
05/23: Billings, MT @
05/25: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
05/26: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
05/27: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
05/28: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
05/29: Niagara Falls, NY @ Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel - The Bear’s Den
05/30: Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/31: South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground - Ballroom
06/02: New York, NY @ B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
06/03: Amagansett, NY @ The Stephen Talkhouse
06/04: Hunter Mountain, NY @ Hunter Mountain
06/05: Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody Tent

For more information or to attend a show, please contact:
Aleix Martinez, 212-989-2222 x136 • Sarah@girlie.com • Media
Sarah Avrin, 212-989-2222 x118 • Sarah@girlie.com • Media

Toots & The Maytals Bio

Toots & The Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the tender age of sixteen.

In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” McCarthy, forming a group whose early recordings were attributed to “The Flames” and, possibly, “The Vikings”. Having renamed the group the Maytals, the vocal trio recorded their first album, Never Grow Old – Presenting the Maytals, for producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd at Studio One in 1962-63. With musical backing from Dodd’s house band, the legendary Skatalites, the Maytals’ close-harmony gospel singing ensured instant success for the 1964 release, overshadowing Dodd’s other up-and-coming gospel trio, The Wailers. The original album augmented by studio out-takes from the Studio One sessions was re-released by Heartbeat/Rounder Records in 1997, and is essential listening for Maytals and Skatalites fans.

After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster (released in 1974) before recording their second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965. However, the band’s musical career was rudely interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned on drugs possession charges.

Following Hibbert’s release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band officially changed their name to Toots & The Maytals and began working with Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which produced three classic albums and a string of hits throughout the late sixties and early seventies – “Do the Reggay,” a 1968 single widely credited with coining the word reggae, “Pressure Drop,” “54-46 Was My Number,” and “Monkey Man,” the group’s first international hit in 1970. The group was featured in one of reggae’s greatest breakthrough events – “The Harder They Come,” the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff, named as one of Vanity Fair’s Top 10 Best Soundtracks of all time.

Following Kong’s death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong’s former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the group released three best-selling albums, and enjoyed international hits with Funky Kingston in 1973 and Reggae Got Soul in 1976.

Toots & The Maytals’ compositions would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae-punk and ska revival period in the UK when The Specials included “Monkey Man” on their 1979 debut album and The Clash produced their version of “Pressure Drop.” Having toured throughout the world for many years, Toots & The Maytals disbanded in the early 1980s, but reformed in the early 90s to continue touring and recording successfully. Sublime recorded cover versions of some Maytals songs in the 1990s as well.

The band recently won the 2005 Grammy award for best reggae album True Love, an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.

Toots & The Maytals remains a relevant influence on today’s global music scene with artists from Amy Winehouse to Sublime re-recording classic tracks. Toots received another Grammy nomination for his 2008 release Light Your Light. In recent years Toots has toured with The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys.

Always recording when not touring, Flip & Twist will be released on 4/20/10 on Toot’s own D&F Music label. Look for Toots on the road spring and fall in the US and summer in Europe.