Franti And Spearhead Turn Rebel Rockers

07/22/2008

New album due Sept. 9 from Anti-.

By Blurt Staff

Michael Franti & Spearhead’s new album All Rebel Rockers drops on Sept. 9 via Anti-. Produced by Sly and Robbie with additional production from Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More) on a number of tracks, All Rebel Rockers is, according to the label, “arguably the grooviest, most danceable protest record ever.” Anti- further quotes Billboard, which wrote, “It is not possible for Michael Franti to put aside, even briefly, the stay-positive political messages in his music, but on All Rebel Rockers, he delivers them with a club-approved, dub-infused soul heavily dipped in the record’s birthplace of Kingston Jamaica.”

Hey, we are all about dub-infused soul and danceable protest records!

Franti will be doing some heavy road work leading up to the release of the album (full itinerary below). He’ll be playing such festivals at the Fuji Rock festival in Japan, Pukkelpop in Belgium and Franti’s own Power to the Peaceful festival which draws 50,000+ people each year to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. All this comes on the heels of an already busy 2008, according to the label:

July was full of firsts for Michael Franti and his band Spearhead. On the 4^th of July weekend, Franti and Spearhead played the inaugural Rothbury Festival in Michigan, a greened-out festival run in large part by volunteers and devoted to education and activism as much as a great live music experience. While he was there, Franti lead 500 enthusiastic yoga devotees in an afternoon of music and movement before his set that evening.

July also found Franti’s award-winning documentary I Know I’m Not Alone at the first documentary film festival in Dubai, “Documentary Voices: Pulling Focus.” Featuring 20 filmmakers from the Arab countries, US and Iran, the festival opened with Franti’s 2005 film about his experiences in the war-ravaged countries of Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and was attended by the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Michael Franti & Spearhead Tour Dates:

Thu Jul 24

Detroit Lakes

10,000 LAKES FESTIVAL

Sun Jul 27

Niigata

JPN

FUJI ROCK FEST - Field of Heaven

Fri Aug 08

Jersey City

ALL POINTS WEST

Sat Aug 09