Outspoken social activist and reggae-rock artist Michael Franti will continue spreading his message of unity in the New Year with his backing band Spearhead. The veteran performer kicks off the 20-city winter tour leg on January 28 at The Depot in Salt Lake City, UT, and wraps the run with a March 8 appearance at Langerado Music Festival in Miami, FL.
Along the way, Franti & Spearhead will stop for a January 31 concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA, a February 12 session at State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, a February 22 gig at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA, and a February 28 performance at Ram’s Head Tavern in Baltimore, MD. The group’s next engagement is a two-night, year-end celebration on December 30-31 at The Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC.
The group is supporting its sixth studio album, “All Rebel Rockers,” which was released in early September. The record peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 4 on the independent album charts, making it the highest placing solo or collaborative effort for Franti, a global peace and social justice activist.
“As a musician and a man, I more than anything else want to be a unifier,” he stated on his Web site. “I want to bring people together through music and its unique power. And I hope that somehow that sense of unity extends beyond the music.”
Although the musician’s message of peace and goodwill is clear on his most recent records, Franti admits that his initial foray into politically-charged music was more angry than uplifting. The vocalist got his start in the ’80s industrial punk group the Beatnigs before moving on to the early ’90s hip-hop group The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.
“When I first started out, I think that my politics could be boiled down to ‘F*** the System’ or ‘F*** the Man,'” Franti explained in a statement. “When you’re coming of age, you’re desperate to change the world, but you have no idea how to actually do it. It takes time to discover that just complaining about the world is not enough. You have to do something affirmative.”
Michael Franti & Spearhead itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| December 30 – 31 | Vancouver, BC | The Vogue Theatre |
| January 4 – 9 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Jam Cruise 7 * |
| January 28 | Salt Lake City, UT | The Depot |
| January 30 | Ventura, CA | The Ventura Theatre |
| January 31 | Los Angeles, CA | Club Nokia |
| February 7 | Oakland, CA | Fox Theatre |
| February 9 | Boise, ID | The Knitting Factory |
| February 10 | Sun Valley, ID | Sun Valley Pavilion |
| February 12 | Minneapolis, MN | State Theatre |
| February 13 | Indianapolis, IN | Egyptian Room @ Murat Center |
| February 14 | Cincinnati, OH | Bogart’s |
| February 15 | Cleveland, OH | House of Blues |
| February 18 | Athens, GA | The Georgia Theatre |
| February 19 | Knoxville, TN | The Valarium |
| February 20 | Charlotte, NC | Neighborhood Theatre |
| February 21 | Charleston, SC | Music Farm |
| February 22 | Atlanta, GA | The Variety Playhouse |
| February 26 | Asheville, NC | The Orange Peel |
| February 27 | Richmond, VA | The National |
| February 28 | Baltimore, MD | Ram’s Head Tavern |
| March 6 | Aspen, CO | Belly Up |
| March 8 | Miami, FL | Langerado Music Festival |
* Michael Franti solo
