Live For Live Music, in partnership with HeadCount, is thrilled to present Democracy Comes Alive, a one-day virtual music festival on Saturday, October 3rd aimed at promoting voter participation. The election this November may be the most important of our lifetime, and Democracy Comes Alive aims to channel the power of music to make a critical impact on participation in democracy this year and beyond. Tune in below or watch on the platform of your choice here.
Democracy Comes Alive
Powered by Nugs.TV and Plus1, the event is the latest in a virtual series from the creators of Quarantine Comes Alive and Justice Comes Alive, which each garnered over 200,000 viewers and raised a combined $230,000 for various COVID-19 relief and social justice organizations. This latest installment aims to channel the momentum of the previous virtual festivals toward increasing voter participation.
The event, hosted by SiriusXM’s Ari Fink, will require fans to check their voter registration or make a donation to HeadCount in order to receive a streaming link for the show. Committed to promoting involvement in democracy, HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters, reaching both young people and music fans where they are to inform and empower. Since 2004, HeadCount has signed up over 600,000 voters through its work with touring musicians like Ariana Grande, Dead & Company, and Beyoncé, to name a few, at events like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and more.
The full-day virtual event will feature all-new performances by 50 nationally-touring artists as well as discussions with guest speakers including Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), Jon Fishman (Phish), Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company), Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band), and more.
Rather than conversations about partisan issues, speaker discussions will focus on the history of voting rights and examine what it took for everyone—from the original founding fathers to women, Black, indigenous, people of color, and more—to gain the Constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote. Democracy Comes Alive will also provide tips and information regarding best voting practices and the most effective ways to research representatives at a national, state, and local level.
“People have fought and died, and are still fighting, for the universal right to vote in this country,” says Kunj Shah, founder of Live For Live Music, Justice Comes Alive, and Quarantine Comes Alive, to name a few. “However, so many of our country’s eligible citizens still do not wield this awesome power bestowed upon them, which in turn leads to presidents and representatives enacting laws that aren’t in their best interest. Democracy works best when all citizens of a country participate, so we’re looking to encourage just that with Democracy Comes Alive, alongside the support of HeadCount.”
Andy Bernstein, who co-found HeadCount in 2004, understands music’s power to drive meaningful social change. “This lineup features so many champions of democracy,” says Bernstein. “Many of these artists have been HeadCount supporters since all the way back to 2004. And the younger acts have been championing democracy from the beginning of their careers. Right now, during this election, is when we all need to be fighting for democracy.”
Participating artists on the lineup span an eclectic range of genres, presenting everything from bluegrass to singer-songwriters, jam bands to indie rock, funk, soul, Americana, and more. With all-new performances from each artist on the lineup, an exciting music experience awaits for any fan to enjoy on Democracy Comes Alive.
For years, artist “Baseball Cards” have been a staple of Live For Live Music’s various “Comes Alive” festivals like Brooklyn Comes Alive and Denver Comes Alive. Of course, they’re only “baseball” cards in spirit. This time around, in honor of the NBA converting the league’s empty arenas into polling sites for Election Day, we’re switching gears to highlight a new group of athletes with Democracy Comes Alive “Basketball Cards.”
Viewers can also get in on the fun with custom “Fan Basketball Cards” to match the Democracy Comes Alive Basketball Cards you may have seen floating around social media. Donate $100 or more via DemocracyComesAlive.com or the widget below and email your receipt to democracycomesalive@gmail.com along with the name you want displayed and a vertically-aligned photo of you and the Democracy Comes Alive team will send you a personalized card! Donations benefit HeadCount and participating artists, and donations over $9.99 are tax deductible. Scroll down to flip through all of the Democracy Comes Alive Artist Basketball Cards.
Starting today, fans are encouraged to visit DemocracyComesAlive.com and RSVP. Those who check their voter registration status via Democracy Comes Alive or make a donation of any size in advance will receive an email with a link to the stream the event on the day of the show. If you donate or check your registration on the day of the show, you will receive your link instantly. The event will begin at 1 p.m. ET and continue throughout the day on Saturday, October 3rd. Head here to check your status or donate to HeadCount below to secure your spot:
Donate to HeadCount
Democracy Comes Alive will also offer limited-edition merchandise including t-shirts, beanies, snapback hats, and stickers, with a portion of proceeds benefiting HeadCount and the participating artists. Visit the Democracy Comes Alive merch store here.
In honor of Democracy Comes Alive on Saturday, October 3rd, Spotify has put together a special Democracy Comes Alive playlist featuring music by the various artists on the lineup. You can dive into the music of our artists ahead of showtime here.
See below for a full list of participating artists. For more information, visit DemocracyComesAlive.com. For updates, follow Democracy Comes Alive on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and RSVP to the Facebook Event page.
Democracy Comes Alive Performances By:
ALO
Andy Frasco
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
Big Something
Billy Strings
Bruce Hornsby
The California Honeydrops
Cris Jacobs
David Shaw (The Revivalists)
DAWES
Dopapod
Dumpstaphunk
Fruition
G.Love
Garrett Sayers
The Ghost of Paul Revere
Goose
Here Come The Mummies
Hiss Golden Messenger
Joey Porter (feat. Nigel Hall & Sonata Porter)
Karina Rykman
Katie Pruitt
Kim Dawson
Kitchen Dwellers
Leslie Mendelson
Lettuce x Motet (Members)
Maggie Rose
Marco Benevento
Mark Levy
Melvin Seals & JGB
Michael Franti
Moon Taxi
Neal Francis
Nicki Bluhm
The New Mastersounds
The Nth Power
Phil Lesh and Friends
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Reed Mathis & Electric Beethoven
Robert Walter
Ross James
Ryan Montbleau
Shawn Colvin
Slightly Stoopid
Southern Avenue
Spafford
The String Cheese Incident (members)
The Suffers
Trampled By Turtles
Turkuaz
Umphrey’s Mcgee
Warren Haynes
Democracy Comes Alive Speakers:
Andy Bernstein (HeadCount)
Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead)
Bob Crawford (The Avett Brothers)
Bob Weir (Grateful Dead)
Diane Blagman (Greenberg Traurig)
Jon Fishman (Phish)
Kunj Shah (Live For Live Music)
Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits)
Nadia Prescher (Madison House)
Oteil Burbridge (Dead and Company)
Peter Shapiro (Brooklyn Bowl)
Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band)
Host:
Ari Fink (SiriusXM)
