Catch this Gospel reggae band in Hawaiʻi for free this month

Starting this week, Gospel reggae band Christafari will host nine free events throughout the month of September on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi, as part of its Hawaiian Island Tour: Sounds of Salvation.

The band’s first two performances this Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor and Friday, Sept. 12, at King’s West Oʻahu in Kapolei, will “be full concerts,” per Christafari’s manager Torie Hoopii. It is recommended for attendees to RSVP online at christafari.com.

Christafari was founded by Mark Mohr, who was raised in a Christian family, but as a teenager, "turned to drugs and alcohol, ran away from home and lived on the streets,” according to the group's bio. After hitting rock-bottom, "he had an undeniable encounter with God that drastically transformed his world. At 17, Mark re-committed his life to Christ and took what he now calls his ‘Freedom Step’ out of addiction.”

“At that point, his greatest desire was to help others escape the same bondage that once entangled him. He felt God leading him to start the first Gospel reggae band in America. Just two weeks later, the band was birthed at a camp talent show when a friend said, ‘So you’re not a Rastafarian anymore; you’re a Christafarian.’ And the name stuck!”

Mohr went on to pursue an education in pastoral studies and missions at Biola University in California, while writing songs for Christafari’s first three albums. He later became a pastor and met his wife, Avion Blackman, a Trinidadian musician and vocalist, while ministering together in the Caribbean.

Since the inception of Christafari in 1989, the band has released more than 35 albums, visiting every U.S. state to more than 85 countries on mission “to reach the lost at any cost and make disciples of every nation.”

They call themselves "musicianaries," or musical missionaries.

The goal of the band’s free outreach events are to see “decisions for Christ,” their bio reads. “Christafari’s mission is simple: to go to the ends of the earth until all have heard, and until all have heard we’re not quitting,” Mohr said in a statement.

Today, Christafari's band members come from various continents, countries and cultures, "who share a love for reggae music and passion for following Jesus to the ends of the earth,” their bio reads. The band operates under Sowers International, a nonprofit global missions organization, supported by donations.

In addition to reggae music with a message, the band aims to leave the places they travel to better than they found it through various outreaches such as providing food and clothing to those in need, serving at orphanages, cleaning up trash and more.

The band’s first major tour was in 1995 at Reggae Sunsplash, a tour of 46 cities in 53 days. In 2012, Christafari was the first Gospel artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Charts with “Reggae Worship: a Roots Revival.”

More recently, the group has produced more than 150 music videos via its production company, Rank and File Film Co., and its YouTube channel garners more than 1 million views each month.

Check out their latest release called "Psalm 40":

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.