Michael Franti & Spearhead, Brett Dennen, Wilder Woods, Delacey
The Sylvee 25 S. Livingston St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Jay Blakesberg
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Still going strong 25 years into efforts as a musician, filmmaker and activist, Franti and his backing band chug into town with a new album in tow. The follow-up to 2001’s Stay Human, this record, Stay Human Vol. II, finds Franti and company adding new twists and dimensions to their uplifting music, with songs like “Extraordinary” adding shades of EDM. Tunes like “Stay Human 2,” though, are vintage Franti, blending rootsy ballads and funk. This Triple M block party also includes sets by Brett Dennen, Wilder Woods and Delacey.
press release 105.5 Triple M Presents Triple M Block Party
with Michael Franti & Spearhead, Flora Cash, Delacey, + special act TBA
Doors: 5:30 pm / Show: 7:00 pm
The Sylvee
$35 GA / $90 VIP
Reserved Seating Available
press release: Michael Franti & Spearhead are adding U.S. tour dates throughout the fall in support of their critically acclaimed new album Stay Human Vol. II, out now on Thirty Tigers. Stay Human Vol. II is available for purchase and to stream at https://ffm.to/stayhumanvol2. The album debuted at #62 on the Billboard 200 chart as well as #1 on the Americana chart and #1 on the Independent Album chart. It also reached #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart.
Stay Human Vol. II continues to receive critical praise:
“an artist who’s clearly interested in making deep connections with listeners, speaking powerfully through his music and living by his mantra that ‘there is no one in the world that you wouldn’t love if you knew their story.’”—USA Today
“Franti’s mission, musical and otherwise, is convincing people they can.”—Billboard
“a record that’s overflowing with positivity…in these deeply divided times, Franti gives listeners about 45 minutes of nothing but good vibes, optimism and a charge to take that feeling out into the world.”—Associated Press
“[Franti] writes songs with the aim of uplifting his audience.”—Relix
“Franti and company clearly exude confidence that even in a dire and distressed world, there’s still hope to be found in simple pleasures and pastimes.”—Paste
“a refreshing dose of accessible music with life-affirming messages”—PopMatters
“On his new album, Stay Human Vol. II, the hopeful singer-songwriter reminds us that things go wrong occasionally, but when you focus on that, you miss the enormity of what goes right.”—No Depression
The writing on Stay Human Vol. II—which is co-produced by Franti alongside Ben Simonetti (Zac Brown Band, Shemekia Copeland, Blake Shelton), Niko Moon (Zac Brown Band), Kevin Bard (Fitz & The Tantrums) and others—was heavily influenced by Franti’s work on his new award-winning self-directed documentary, Stay Human. He explains, “I’ve traveled the globe making music and throughout the years I’ve always hoped that it could inspire small steps towards making the world a better place. Struggling with the challenges of the world I began filming my new documentary, Stay Human, telling the stories of heroic everyday people who helped me to discover more deeply what it means to be and STAY HUMAN.”
Stay Human has won an array of awards while on the festival circuit, including the RWJ Barnabas Health Award at the 2018 Asbury Park Music & Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2018 Nashville Film Festival, the Audience Award and the Voice for Humanity Award at the 2018 ILLUMINATE Film Festival and the Soul in Cinema Award at the 2018 Maui Film Festival. The film is now available via on demand and digital platforms through Cinedigm.
Franti began writing music as a way to process both the political landscape of the late 1980s and the unique sounds and ideas of his Bay Area upbringing. In 1994, Franti formed Michael Franti & Spearhead. Touring with his band, Franti continued to notice inequality and injustice both at home and abroad. The band released their seminal Stay Human album in 2000, reflecting on the unjust nature of the death penalty among other themes, to make sense of our common humanity in juxtaposition to near constant violations of human rights.
Franti released his first self-directed documentary, I Know I’m Not Alone, in 2005 to widespread critical acclaim. The film depicts his mission for peace in the Middle East, with a focus on the human cost of war. Franti visited war zones in Iraq, Israel and Palestine again finding common connection, playing music to both soldiers and civilians regardless of affiliation.
Michael Franti & Spearhead continue to foster the community both on and off stage and with Michael and his wife Sara’s foundation Do It For The Love, a wish granting nonprofit that brings those with life threatening illnesses, veterans and children with severe challenges to concerts. His recent musical projects have included the Billboard #1 single “The Sound of Sunshine” (2010) and full-length releases All the People (2013) and SOULROCKER (2016), which topped the Billboard rock album charts at #4 and #5, respectively.