A new testament for the reggae world

And a child shall lead them?

A biblical citation seems doubly appropriate when approaching Matisyahu’s landmark performance at Sunday’s Ragga Muffins Festival at the Long Beach Arena, where the 26-year-old Hasidic Jewish reggae phenomenon from White Plains, N.Y., walked among the graybeard giants of Jamaica’s Rastafarian world and pretty much knocked everybody dead.

It’s a foregone conclusion that Matisyahu is primed to become a rare reggae artist with a mainstream rock following. The radio success of his live recording “King Without a Crown” has set the stage and raised anticipation for his upcoming major-label debut album, “Youth.”

But on Sunday he faced a different kind of test, stepping into the spotlight of an event that’s regarded as the premier reggae festival in the U.S., if not the world. The Ragga Muffins Festival was also marking its 25th anniversary, adding pressure for Matisyahu as he joined the company of such reggae stalwarts as Luciano, Ras Michael, Freddie McGregor and Bob Marley’s band, the Wailers.

If it was an intimidating situation for the former Matthew Miller, he didn’t let on when he took the stage at 8 p.m. and began a keening, wordless, Middle Eastern-tinged chant that had the feel of a purification ritual.

Any sense of novelty suggested by his thick beard and black Hasidic garb was quickly dissipated by the force of his music and his presence. It was a little like the Andy Kaufman routine in which the shy “foreign man” suddenly becomes the smoldering Elvis.

As it turned out, it wasn’t just the singer’s relatively young age and the Jewish imagery in his lyrics that distinguished him from most of the other artists on the bill. Where most of the performers sang in front of full, rich-sounding bands with horn sections and backup singers, Matisyahu was accompanied by a trio of bass, drums and guitar that played in the spare, echoing style of Jamaican dub recordings.

That’s also one of the elements on “Youth,” which was produced by noted studio adventurer Bill Laswell. But the album, which comes out March 7 on Epic Records, doesn’t lock on one sound, instead moving smoothly from classic-sounding roots-reggae to rapid-fire dancehall to American hip-hop.

It’s the perfect platform for Matisyahu’s plunge into the big time -- diverse and entertaining enough to make curious listeners comfortable, but uncompromised in theme and music.

On Sunday, Matisyahu stuck closer to the reggae core, singing in rapid, patois-inflected bursts as his guitarist launched reverberant chords into the spacious sound. The tall singer covered the stage in long strides, and sometimes in huge, high hops that got the capacity crowd roaring.

Beyond that -- and an entertaining segment as a human beat box -- he trusted his music to form the link with his listeners, and the no-nonsense earnestness of his manner demanded attention and respect.

Even Matisyahu’s use of Jewish reference points in his songs was a unifying gesture, bonding him with Jamaican reggae’s Old Testament imagery and its themes of exile, liberation and spiritual solace. In his most compelling moment, he outlined his religion’s philosophy of the human soul as a light shining in the darkness, using the example of the Holocaust as the kind of profound evil to be faced and illuminated. He also had Luciano join him for a song, bridging reggae nations and generations.

If Matisyahu is bringing fresh blood to reggae, his elders at the two-day Ragga Muffins Festival showed that they still have plenty of life, even if they tend to fall into familiar forms. Especially notable on Sunday was Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, who mounted a daunting front line of four percussionists and came closest to the rural flavor of vintage reggae.

Michael sang about Bob Marley, and also offered a version of the late singer’s “Redemption Song.” The festival no longer has “Bob Marley Day” as part of its title, but its dedication to the legacy of reggae’s central saint remains undiminished, and it’s only enhanced by the arrival of a disciple such as Matisyahu.