Leah Flynn’s parents played a lot of classic pop songs in their home, which exposed her to standards like Aretha Franklin’s Respect, Purple Rain by Prince, and Bob Marley’s One Love.

Her biggest fascination, however, is Marley.

Last year, at 16 years old, violinist Flynn began performing tracks by the reggae king, among them One Love and Three Little Birds from his 1977 Exodus album.

“It is not difficult playing Marley songs on the violin, the chord structure is easy to follow. I am an advanced reader in classical music and I also play by ear, so I can basically play a piece after hearing it a couple of times,” she shared

Describing Marley as “a musical genius, icon and legend”, she has posted her violin renditions of some of his songs to
YouTube.

“He was all about equal rights and justice,” said Flynn, who pointed to Is it Love, Redemption Song and No Woman No Cry as other Marley songs she would like to cover.

Marley died in May 1981 from cancer at age 36. He would have been 79.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Flynn started playing the violin at age five. One year later, she moved with her family to Orlando, where she joined the Metropolitan Area Youth Symphony.

She has performed with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, American Pops Orchestra, and played the American national before the start of a Miami Heat/Orlando Magic NBA game.