"I remember playing in clubs when I was just a boy," Mills said. "Everybody else would be drinking their drinks, and I had to drink milk. I started playing at a very young age, and I was just always good at it. It was a gift from God, and I've always tried to share it with people."

He has done that; Mills has spent virtually his entire life playing music for people. He performs in clubs and churches, at conferences and workshops, in vast outdoor venues and in elementary school classrooms.

Saturday night, he and his band -- Mickey Mills and Steel -- will headline the seventh annual Bob Marley Birthday Bash at the Cat's Cradle.

Also on tap are Jamrock, Dub Addis, Cayenne and the G-Toy Band -- the latter a group made of young musicians not much older than Mills was when he started playing professionally. Vendors will have Caribbean fare on hand, and the Cradle will pulse with the rhythms of reggae.

Marley, who brought reggae to worldwide audiences before his death by cancer in 1981, remains to this day the world's most well-known reggae artist. His influence is almost impossible to overstate, as musicians in all manner of genres have incorporated elements of Marley's music into their own styles.

Mills was onstage playing not long after Marley's death, he said, when he experienced what he calls a vision.

"I was playing and I closed my eyes, and I saw a vision of Bob Marley," Mills said. "He spoke to me through his spirit. That's when I started growing my dreadlocks and focusing more on reggae."

Marley's legacy has touched so many, Mills said, because it is more than music.

"He was like a prophet," Mills said. "So much of what he said with his music has come to pass or is coming to pass. Marley was my inspiration. If I was going through something, I could listen to his music and it would build me up. His music is encouragement and wisdom and blessing. That's what I try to do, too."

The Bob Marley Birthday Bash will be Saturday, Feb. 9, starting at 8:30 p.m. at the Cat's Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro. Admission is $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Call 967-9053 or see www.catscradle.com.