Burning Spear

About

Burning Spear is the stage name of Winston Rodney (born 1 March 1945 in Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica), a roots reggae singer-songwriter who has been active since 1969. His 1975 album Marcus Garvey - built around the teachings of the pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey - broke him internationally and remains one of the defining records of the genre. Over a career spanning more than 25 albums, he has won two Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album (2000 and 2009) and accumulated 14 nominations in that category.

580.3K

Spotify monthly listeners

2×

Grammy Awards won (Best Reggae Album, 2000 and 2009)

Grammy nominations (Best Reggae Album category)

25+

Studio albums released

What's new

2026-06
Burning Spear is currently on his Self Reliance Tour 2026, with European dates running from late June through mid-July across Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland.
2023-08
Burning Spear released No Destroyer on 18 August 2023 via Burning Music - his first studio album since announcing retirement in 2016, recorded at the Magic Shop studio in New York City in 2011.
2024-02
No Destroyer received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album at the 66th Grammy Awards (February 2024), Burning Spear's 13th nomination in that category.
2022
Burning Spear returned to live touring in 2022 with his first US tour since 2010, performing sold-out shows before heading to Europe.