On Sunday, June 28th, over 50 artists and tens of thousands of fans came together for Justice Comes Alive, a one-day, virtual festival harnessing the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. The donation-based streaming event generated $55,000 and counting in funds for the participating artists, who remain out of work as the pandemic continues, as well as a number of social justice-oriented causes via PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund.
The 12-hour live-stream marathon featured new contributions by an array of amazing artists from around the world including renowned New Orleans drummer and former Dumpstaphunk member Alvin Ford Jr., who performed led some fellow NOLA musicians in a rendition of Dumpstaphunk’s 2017 single, “Justice”. The split-screen performance of the protest anthem featured Ford on drums as well as Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph (Galactic, Tank and the Bangas) and Josh Kagler on vocals, DJ Raymond on bass, and Brandon “Bmike” Butler on keys, with Reggie Nicholas Jr. serving as the engineer.
In a Facebook post about the performance, Ford explained, “I had a chance to recreate this song ‘Justice’ by one of my favorite bands Dumpstaphunk with some of my friends for the virtual festival Justice Comes Alive: A Virtual Festival For Equality. I was honored to play on the original song with some LEGENDS in the game!!”
Relive Alvin Ford Jr. & Friends’ rendition of Dumpstaphunk’s “Justice” at Justice Comes Alive below. If you enjoyed the performance and have the means, consider making a donation to Plus1 For Black Lives Fund via www.JusticeComesAlive.com.
Alvin Ford Jr. & Friends – “Justice” (Dumpstaphunk) – Justice Comes Alive
Presented by Live For Live Music in partnership with PLUS1 and Nugs.TV, Justice Comes Alive was conceived as a way to harness the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. All funds raised from Justice Comes Alive will be split evenly between the artists on the bill and the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund, which was developed to address and continue the fight against anti-Black racism and violence in the U.S.
Directly supporting organizations like Equal Justice Initiative, Impact Justice, and The Bail Project, the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund focuses on empowering Black communities, movement building, keeping people out of the criminal justice system while dismantling it more broadly, and a collective, international narrative change toward the equitable treatment of Black people. 30% of the PLUS1 for Black Lives Fund is also committed to small grants for Black and Indigenous-led grassroots efforts combating racism. For more information on Justice Comes Alive, head here.