ONLINE: Democracy Comes Alive

media release: Live For Live Music, in partnership with HeadCount, is thrilled to present Democracy Comes Alive, a one-day virtual music festival on Saturday, October 3 aimed at promoting voter participation. The election this November may be the most important of our lifetime, and Democracy Comes Alive aims to channel the power of music to make a critical impact on participation in democracy this year and beyond.

Schedule here: https://www.facebook.com/democracycomesalive

Powered by Nugs.TV and Plus1, the event is the latest in a virtual series from the creators of Quarantine Comes Alive and Justice Comes Alive, which each garnered over 200,000 viewers and raised a combined $230,000 for various COVID-19 relief and social justice organizations. This latest installment aims to channel the momentum of the previous virtual festivals toward increasing voter participation.

Rather than conversations about partisan issues, discussions with guest speakers between performances will focus on the history of voting rights and examine what it took for everyone—from the original founding fathers to women, Black, indigenous, people of color, and more—to gain the Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. Democracy Comes Alive will also provide tips and information regarding best voting practices and the most effective ways to research representatives at a national, state, and local level.

"People have fought and died, and are still fighting, for the universal right to vote in this country," says Kunj Shah, founder of Live For Live Music, Justice Comes Alive, and Quarantine Comes Alive, to name a few. "However, so many of our country’s eligible citizens still do not wield this awesome power bestowed upon them, which in turn leads to presidents and representatives enacting laws that aren’t in their best interest. Democracy works best when all citizens of a country participate, so we’re looking to encourage just that with Democracy Comes Alive, alongside the support of HeadCount," Shah adds.

Andy Bernstein, who co-found HeadCount in 2004, understands music's power to drive meaningful social change. "This lineup features so many champions of democracy," says Bernstein. "Many of these artists have been HeadCount supporters since all the way back to 2004. And the younger acts have been championing democracy from the beginning of their careers. Right now, during this election, is when we all need to be fighting for democracy."

The event, hosted by SiriusXM's Ari Fink, will require fans to check their voter registration or make a donation to HeadCount in order to receive a streaming link for the show. Committed to promoting involvement in democracy, HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters, reaching both young people and music fans where they are to inform and empower. Since 2004, they have signed up over 600,000 voters through their work with touring musicians like Ariana Grande, Dead & Company, and Beyoncé, to name a few, at events like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and more.

The full-day virtual event will feature all-new performances by 50 nationally-touring artists as well as discussions with guest speakers including Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), Jon Fishman (Phish), Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company), Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band), and more.

Artists: ALO, Andy Frasco, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Big Something, Billy Strings, Bruce Hornsby, The California Honeydrops, Cris Jacobs, David Shaw (The Revivalists), DAWES, Dopapod, Dumpstaphunk, Fruition, G. Love, The Ghost of Paul Revere, Goose, Here Come The Mummies, Hiss Golden Messenger, Joey Porter (feat. Nigel Hall & Sonata Porter), Karina Rykman, Katie Pruitt, Kim Dawson, Kitchen Dwellers, Leslie Mendelson, Lettuce x Motet (Members), Maggie Rose, Marco Benevento, Melvin Seals & JGB, Michael Franti, Moon Taxi, Neal Francis, Nicki Bluhm, The New Mastersounds, The Nth Power, Phil Lesh And Friends, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Reed Mathis & Electric Beethoven, Robert Walter, Ryan Montbleau, Shawn Colvin, Slightly Stoopid, Southern Avenue, Spafford, The String Cheese Incident (members), The Suffers, Trampled By Turtles, Turkuaz, Umphrey's Mcgee, Warren Haynes