Michael Franti & Spearhead bring their Togetherness Tour to Middlefield
Michael Franti & Spearhead and Stephen Marley with Bombargo
Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 5:30PM – Doors at 4:30PM (see full tour dates below)
Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort – 99 Powder Hill Rd, Middlefield CT 06455
All Ages
Tickets go on sale sale Friday 2/9 at 10am via manicpresents.com
Michael Franti & Spearhead announce the first leg of their Togetherness Tour that will take them across the U.S., including stops at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Tortuga Music Festival and a return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The tour will include special guests Stephen Marley and Trevor Hall, as well as Niko Moon, Bombargo and Ripe on select dates. Pre-sales will begin tomorrow, Feb. 7 at noon local time and general on sale will begin Friday, Feb. 9 at 10am local time at MichaelFranti.com. Additional dates to be announced soon.
Franti & Spearhead’s latest album Big Big Love, dubbed by American Songwriter as “an energizing batch of songs that spotlight the common threads that connect us,” features 17 tracks all cowritten by Franti, with the tour’s name derived from the record’s most important takeaway – TOGETHERNESS.
“Togetherness is the central theme in all the songs on our latest record Big Big Love,” shares Franti. “How do we get that feeling of togetherness, that feeling of closeness, that we so often overlooked and took for granted, but now has become so important? Not only just in terms ofhow we interact with each other in our neighborhoods or our personal relationships, but on a worldwide scale. How do we bridge these gaps so that people can feel close to one another again?
“There are forces in the world that use our division to achieve their greedy goals, their political aims, or just to divide people because they want to try to take advantage of it,” he elaborates. “I want to really use my music and my time in my life to bring closeness to people and help them feel like they’re not alone in this world.”
Impacting AAA radio on Feb. 20, “Hands Up To The Sky” quickly became a fan-favorite during live shows on last year’s Big Big Love Tour, as the uplifting track permits listeners to make space in their minds and hearts by letting go of emotions and allow room for the joy that follows once on the other side.
“Writing ‘Hands Up’ was an important part of my healing journey and putting together the video was cathartic,” reveals Franti. “I lost my father to COVID and after several months of grieving, I saw live music again for the first time – a Balinese band called The Munchies. At one point, I closed my eyes and put my hands up to the sky. My whole body started trembling, tears started coming down my cheeks, and I was laughing and crying and dancing and singing and shouting and just feeling everything over the previous few years rise up and out.
“I needed the music to help me open all the parts of my soul that were blocked due to just trying to figure out how to get through life each day. It was a reminder to me of how important music is, as it also brought that feeling of togetherness that I missed so much during the pandemic. That feeling of just being around other people watching a band play and experiencing that together.”
Michael Franti
Michael Franti is a globally recognized musician, activist and award-winning filmmaker revered for his high-energy live shows, inspiring music, worldwide philanthropic efforts and the power of optimism. Throughout his multi-decade career,
Franti has earned three Billboard No. 1’s with triumphantly hopeful hits “Sound of Sunshine,” “Say Hey (I Love You)” and “I Got You,” as well as six Top 30 Hot AC singles, 10 Top 25 AAA Singles and three Billboard Top 5 Rock Albums.
Spearhead’s Follow Your Heart was released in June 2022 and debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Pop Chart behind Harry Styles. Praised by American Songwriter as “an energizing batch of songs that spotlight the common threads that connect us,” Franti & Spearhead’s 13th studio album Big Big Love is available everywhere now, featuring 17 tracks cowritten by Franti, reflecting his tenacity, inclusiveness, and optimism.
Franti & Spearhead will embark on the Togetherness Tour in 2024, bringing their dynamic and invigorating shows to Soulrockers across North America, including a return to the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. With 60+ dates through the summer, the Togetherness Tour will kick off on April 6th in Fort Lauderdale at Tortuga Festival.The Bay-Area native resides in Bali when he is not on tour and owns Soulshine Bali, a 32-room top-rated boutique hotel located in Ubud, Bali that focuses on joy through wellness and music, offering unique retreat opportunities and accommodations, along with special events and celebrations. Franti continues to foster community both on and off stage with a wish granting non-profit, Do It For The Love, which brings those with life threatening illnesses, veterans, and children with severe challenges to concerts worldwide, fulfilling over 3,500 wishes and touching the lives of over 15,000 people to date.
Stephan Marley
8x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, Stephen Marley just released his new album Old Soul on September 15, 2023 – his first full-length project since 2016. Featuring a stellar line-up of special guests including Bob Weir, Eric Clapton, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton, and Slightly Stoopid, the 14- track acoustic-inspired album is now available on all digital platforms via Tuff Gong Collective/UMe/Ghetto Youths International. Limited-edition double LP vinyl in translucent yellow and green, CD, 2LP standard black vinyl and merch bundles are available now at stephenmarleymusic.com.
Old Soul comes as a complete revelation. While grounded from the road during the COVID lockdown, Stephen set up a new studio on a remote family farm in the Florida countryside, holding nightly jam sessions in a converted garage. With a stripped-down ensemble comprising binghi drums, bass, acoustic guitar, and flute, Stephen played whatever he felt like — ranging from original compositions and reggae rarities with deep personal meaning to classics recorded by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles. “Irie vibration,” Stephen says of the sounds made together on the farm. The lion’s share of Old Soul was recorded during these “unplugged” jam sessions.
Even as the album showcases Ragga’s versatility, the message within his music remains consistent. “We come to free the people’s minds,” says Stephen. “Only way you can free your soul is to free your mind. My father say, ‘No chains on my feet, but I’m not free.’ And then he come say, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.’ Anywhere the music calls us, we are going to be there to spread the message of love and unity.” Old Soul explores a musical palette that spans a variety of cultures and genres alike, with hand-selected special guests furthering the spiritual journey that encompasses the album.
In celebration of the new album, Stephen embarked on an ambitious Old Soul Tour Unplugged 2023 through the Fall, and will continue to tour in support of the new album in 2024.
Michael Franti & Spearhead’s Togetherness Tour 2024
April 6 Tortuga Music Festival Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 10 Soul Kitchen Music Hall^ Mobile, AL
April 12 The Key West Amphitheater^ Key West, FL
April 13 Florida Groves Music Festival Orlando, FL
April 28 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival New Orleans, LA
May 17 Pure Imagination Prescott, AZ
May 24 Los Colonias Park Amphitheater^ Grand Junction, CO
May 25 Hipico^ Santa Fe, NM
May 26 Durango Mesa Park^ Durango, CO
May 29 Belly Up^ Aspen, CO
May 31 Red Rocks Amphitheater$ Morrison, CO
June 1 Chautauqua Auditorium Boulder, CO
June 3 McGrath Amphitheatre*^ Cedar Rapids, IA
June 5 EPIC Event Center*^ Green Bay, WI
June 6 The Sylvee*^ Madison, WI
June 7 Hilde Performance Center*^ Plymouth, MN
June 8 KC Live!*^ Kansas City, MO
June 11 Steelhouse*^ Omaha, NEJune 13 Riverfront Live*^ Cincinnati, OH
June 14 Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park*^ Indianapolis, IN
June 15 Ravinia Festival+^ Highland Park, IL
June 16 Evans Amphitheater*^ Cleveland, OH
June 18 Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort*^ Middlefield, CT
June 19 Summer Stage at Tree House Brew Co*^ Deerfield, MA
June 20 Hutton Brickyards Retreat & Event Center*^ Kingston, NY
June 21 Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course*^ Grantville, PA
June 22 Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards*^ Lafayette, NY
June 23 Maine Savings Amphitheater+^ Bangor, ME
June 25 Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom+^ Hampton Beach, NH
June 26 Freeman Arts Pavilion+^ Selbyville, DE
June 28 Salvage Station+^ Asheville, NC
June 29 Salvage Station#^ Asheville, NC
June 30 Roanoke Island Festival Park#^ Manteo, NC
July 5 Greenfield Lake Amphitheater^ Wilmington, NC
July 6 Greenfield Lake Amphitheater^ Wilmington, NC
July 7 Greenfield Lake Amphitheater^ Wilmington, NC
July 9 The Chicken Box Nantucket, MA
July 10 The Chicken Box Nantucket, MA
August 25 Mountain Sol Festival Santa Cruz, CA
More dates TBA
Support
Stephen Marley*
Trevor Hall+
Niko Moon#
Bombargo^
Ripe$
Evening with
Trio show
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