As a means to pay tribute to her late son more than two decades ago, Cedella Marley Booker, the mother of legendary singer Bob Marley, pioneered 9 Mile as a musical event. Today, the yearly festival is still going strong, now organized by Nine Mile Entertainment, which is owned and operated by Bob Marley's brother, Richard Booker.
A new name has entered the mix, Imagination TV (OTCPK:IMTV), with the Casper, Wyoming-based media and entertainment company saying on Thursday morning that it will be co-producing the upcoming event, planned for March 2019 at Virginia Key Beach in Miami, Florida.
The 2019 event marks the 25th anniversary of the festival.
The name of the festival and Booker's company are sourced from the town of Nine Mile, Jamaica, where Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945. A raggae icon with hits like "Redemption Song," "One Love," "No Woman, No Cry," "Is This Love" and many more, Marley died in Miami on May 11, 1981 of skin cancer.
In addition to musical entertainment, the festival, which draws crowds ranging from 10,000 to 29,000 people, spreads Marley's timeless message of peace and unity at the same time. The 9 Mile Music Festival and Food Drive collects non-perishable canned goods for distribution to homeless shelters and food banks across Miami and Jamaica.
To date, more than four million cans of food have been donated to charitable organizations.
The festival has featured A-list musicians over the years, including Bob Marley's children (Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-mani and Damian), Carlos Santana, Hootie & the Blowfish, Lauryn Hill, Shaggy, Erykah Badu, 2 Chainz, T.I., Pitbull and many others.
Calling it a great opportunity for the company, Imagination TV chief executive Juan Areco expressed a personal element towards the festival, saying, "Growing up in Miami, FL it truly is an honor to be a part of such a historical and consistently successful event."
Shares of IMTV are flat at $0.0009, with 37.6 million shares trading hands so far Thursday with about three hours left in the trading session.
Imagination TV has a market capitalization of $2.7 million, based upon a stunning 2.95 billion shares outstanding.
