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 funk supergroup D’Vibes Trio, featuring organist Deshawn D’Vibes Alexander, and guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff and drummer Adam Deitch of Lettuce. This special performance also featured Alexander’s sister, Tasha Jackson, on backing vocals.
After an introductory jam where we got to know each performer thanks to Alexander’s MC abilities, the group took on Billy Preston‘s “That’s The Way God Planned It”. The gospel vibes of Alexander’s organ alongside his sister’s vocals fit perfectly with the crucifix positioned the band at the Denver church that D’Vibes and his family attend.
Alexander prefaced the next and final song, “Hold On (Change Is Coming)” by Sounds of Blackness, by telling audiences to “hold on.” “Cause we’re going through a lot, we’ve been through a lot through this pandemic,” D’Vibes said. “Through all this police brutality, through all this racism and other things that have been going on. Just hold on, because change is coming right around the corner.”
With that, the now-quartet launched into the song written in part by Roger Troutman of founding funk outfit Zapp. The song’s uplifting message was needed than ever at Justice Comes Alive as the fight for equality seems to have progressed little since the song came out over 25 years ago. Yet, Deshawn and Sasha continue to sing “Hold on, hold on/A Change is coming/Hold on, hold on/Don’t worry about a thing/Hold on, hold on/You can make it.”
Relive the D’Vibes Trio 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.
D’Vibes Trio ft. Adam Deitch, Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff – “That’s The Way God Planned It” (Billy Preston)/ “Hold On Change Is Coming” (Sounds of Blackness) – 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.