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 young blues guitar virtuoso Christone “Kingfish” Ingram who performed a pair of original songs. But first, before the music started, Kingfish provided some context for his performance and the event as a whole with a quote from Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black person to hold the exalted office:
America must get to work… We must dissent… from the indifference. We must dissent… from the apathy. We must dissent… from a nation that has buried its head in the sand. We must dissent… because American can do better… America must get to work… because America has no choice but to do better.
With that, Christone began on his original tune “Outside of This Town” from his 2019 self-titled debut album. While he is known primarily for his electric guitar stylings, the deep rooted nature of the blues bleeds all the way through his acoustic guitar. Without aggressive levels of distortion to hide behind, this performance of “Outside of This Town” is far more personal than any electric rendition. The second tune, “Listen”, recorded with Keb Mo for his debut record, much more easily translates to the acoustic guitar with its upbeat chord melody. With lyrics about sunshine peeking through the blinds, it sends a positive message of hope for the future.
Related: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Shares Powerful Tribute To His Mother, “Rock & Roll” [Listen]
Relive the Christone “Kingfish” Ingram performance from Justice Comes Alive below. If you enjoyed the Justice Comes Alive performances and have the means, consider making a donation to Plus1 For Black Lives Fund via www.JusticeComesAlive.com.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – “Outside 0f This Town”, “Listen” – 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.