The 16-date North American club tour kicks off March 6 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Calif. He’ll perform in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver before heading to Texas for the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin. After that, he’ll stop in Houston, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Perry has a sizeable body of work as a performer but his musical reputation is loftier as a producer (and some say creator) of modern reggae. He’s acknowledged as the first artist to slow down the hyperkinetic rhythm of ska for the familiar rolling sound of reggae. He’s also known for his pioneering experimental work with dub music.

While he has worked with numerous reggae artists, no collaboration was as fruitful as his work with Bob Marley in the late 1960s and ‘70s.

As historic as those achievements were, they’ve nearly been overshadowed by Perry’s legendary mental instability.

In 1980, he burned down his Black Ark studio, reportedly because he believed Satan had taken up residency there. He fled his native Jamaica for England, and then the Netherlands, where he lived in semi-seclusion – save for the occasional puzzling interview – until returning to London later in the decade.

Since then, he’s recorded several albums with various collaborators, including Adrian Sherwood, Lloyd Barnes, and Mad Professor. He also hooked up with new management and married a Swiss millionaire. The eccentric genius has returned to Jamaica, where he reportedly plans to resurrect his Black Ark label from the ashes.

After several years of rare live performances, Perry has begun touring regularly again. A box set, Arkology, was released in 1997 and his latest, Techno Party, hit stores in September.