DT: JUNE 7, 2017
FM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MIKE GOWEN/BARI LIEBERMAN
MSO PR
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
SET TO PERFORM NEW SINGLE
“SUMMERTIME IS IN OUR HANDS”
ON ‘LIVE WITH KELLY & RYAN’
TOMORROW, THURSDAY JUNE 8
U.S. LEG OF “LOVE OUT LOUD” WORLD TOUR
CONTINUES JUNE 9 AND 10 IN NEW YORK
![]() Above: Michael Franti on tour in Japan
Credit: Hiroki Nishioka
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD–-led by the socially and environmentally conscious singer, songwriter and guitarist–are set to perform their latest single, the positive and uplifting “Summertime Is In Our Hands,” on the nationally syndicated talk show “LIVE WITH KELLY & RYAN,” tomorrow, Thursday, June 8. This appearance comes as they return to New York on their “Love Out Loud” World Tour with a show on June 9 at The Paramount in Huntington, NY and June 10 at The Playstation Theater in New York City.
The colorful music video for “Summertime Is In Our Hands” was released over the Memorial Day weekend and has garnered over half a million views on Facebook since its posting in tandem with Franti‘s interview on the nationally syndicated “Delilah” radio show. Fans can listen to the full podcast episode via iTunes here. Filmed in Bali and directed by Franti, the video brings to life a vibrant story about enjoying every moment with a heartening plot twist towards the end. Click here to watch.
The song-off his most recent and ninth studio album, SOULROCKER (Fantasy Records)-carries very meaningful inspiration for Franti as it was written when his son was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. As a result of the diagnosis, they grew closer, valuing their time. The feeling is “summer is whenever, the memories last,” says Franti. “Live your life to the fullest, even in the darkest hour.” A mini-documentary about the “Summertime Is In Our Hands” video and the “Do It For The Love“ organization-the wish-granting non-profit co-founded by Franti and his wife Sara that brings people living with life-threatening illnesses, children with severe challenges, and wounded veterans to live concerts-has also been released. Watch the moving mini-documentary here.
Onstage is where MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD truly take flight;they embrace the power of music knowing how it can inspire, uplift, and make people want to dance or cry. For the aptly titled “Love Out Loud” World Tour, which kicked off March 2 in Alaska including international performances already completed in South Africa and Japan,the group will be stopping all over from now through early October, with stops in New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Kansas City, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Austin, Boise and Saratoga, among many others. The “Love Out Loud” tour will also include additional festival stops at Mountain Jam Festival in Hunter, NY on June 18, California World Fest in Grass Valley, CA on June 16, and Floydfest in Floyd, VA on July 8 among others, before wrapping at Tour De Fat in Tempe, AZ on October 7. See below for a list of upcoming North American tour dates. Go here to see a mini-doc where FRANTI movingly talks about what inspired, amid the chaos of the world, the “Love Out Loud” tour name and tour art.
Catch MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD on the road:
*** with St. Paul & The Broken Bones
** with Paul Cannon
* with Nattali Rize
~ with Nattali Rize and Adam Ezra Group
~~ with Ethan Tucker
() with Trevor Green
^^ with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
^ with Satsang
> with Landon McNamara
>> with Trevor Hall & HIRIE
ABOUT MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD:
Formed in 1994, Spearhead was born as the latest in a series of musical projects that also included Franti‘s industrial/hardcore act the Beatnigs and his groundbreaking hip-hop duo Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. The band released their debut album in September 1994, and over the next two decades gained a massive following across the globe, bolstered by the smash success of “Say Hey (I Love You”) (a 2009 single that hit #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and appeared on Spearhead’s sixth studio album All Rebel Rockers). In 2016 Michael Franti & Spearhead released their ninth studio album, SOULROCKER, via Fantasy/Concord records. Through the years, Franti has also dedicated himself to activism and filmmaking, with his 2005 documentary I Know I’m Not Alone chronicling his journey to Iraq, Palestine, and Israel and offering a seldom-seen look at war’s toll on everyday people.
![]() Above: Michael Franti & Spearhead
For more information on MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD, visit:
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For MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD press inquiries, contact:
MSO PR
818.380.0400
Mitch Schneider // mschneider@msopr.com
Mike Gowen // mgowen@msopr.com
Bari Lieberman (tour press) // blieberman@msopr.com |
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