Michael Franti and Spearhead Top Best Year Yet With "Yell Fire! Live"
Celebrating 2006 Pukkelpop Recording
"Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" Performance Confirmed For November 5
Michael Franti and Spearhead will celebrate the release of the live, digital-only version of its acclaimed breakthrough and Anti- debut Yell Fire! on November 5 with a performance of CBS-TV's "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Recorded in August 2006 during Belgium's 21st annual Pukkelpop Festival, Yell Fire! Live was released on October 9.
On the strength of uplifting 2007 performances at Bonnaroo, Sasquatch events - not to mention a monumental sold-out gig at Colorado's infamous Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Franti and Spearhead made notable West Coast festival appearances. Among them, Franti's own 9th annual Power to the Peaceful festival - held last month in his hometown of San Francisco - was an enormous success, packed with people of all ages.
In August, Michael Franti and Spearhead began recording a new, as yet untitled studio album with producer Matt Wallace (The Replacements, Faith No More, John Hiatt). Slated for a 2008 release via Anti-, the project follows its aforementioned, widely-acclaimed Yell Fire!, which earned a rare 'A' rating from Entertainment Weekly in a review that asserted, "Who says protest songs can't be both fiery and fun?"
Meanwhile, The Washington Post wrote, "Of the recent spate of antiwar tunes, none is quite as compelling as those of Michael Franti," adding, "This joyous fusion of reggae, hip-hop and soul is a gentle, galvanizing call to arms." Aside from his music career, Franti is an award-winning filmmaker who is responsible for I Know I'm Not Alone, the heralded 2005 documentary about the Iraq War. He has been praised for his commitments to peace, tolerance and co-existence from journalists and formal and informal leaders throughout the globe.
In May 2007, Franti performed an extremely rare San Quentin Prison concert before some 2,000 inmates. His activism also found him in the company of patients at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center the month prior, as he visited and performed for injured soldiers before participating in a fundraiser for Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Looking to 2008, Michael Franti and Spearhead will also take to the sea in January as part of Jam Cruise 6, which leaves from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and visits Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.
Here are Michael Franti and Spearhead's upcoming U.S. Tour Dates:
Oct. 17 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre Oct. 18 - Louisville, KY - Brown Theatre Oct. 19 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre Oct. 20 - Black Mountain, NC - Lake Eden Arts Festival Oct. 21 - Monterey, CA, Monterey Music Summit Oct. 24 - Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT Oct. 27 - The Joint, Las Vegas, NV Oct. 28 - Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV