On Sunday, June 28th, Justice Comes Alive will take over screens around the world for a full-day, virtual festival harnessing the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. The donation-based streaming event will generate 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 the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund. Justice Comes Alive is also proud to partner with HeadCount to further encourage voter participation. The event will run from; noon to midnight ET on Sunday. Donate any amount here to get a link to stream Justice Comes Alive on the platform of your choice.
Justice Comes Alive serves as a followup to the highly-successful Quarantine Comes Alive, which took place on May 30th. That day-long live stream event took in over $170,000 in donations to the comprehensive Plus1 COVID-19 Relief Fund.
The lineup of 50+ musical performers on Sunday runs the gamut from nationally-touring outfits to special band reunions to world-renowned, innovative instrumentalists. Of course, it wouldn’t be a “Comes Alive” event without some special collaborations, and Justice Comes Alive has two great ones to look forward to—Everyone Orchestra and Motown Getdown.
Much like he did at Quarantine Comes Alive, Matt Butler will host an all-star, virtual Everyone Orchestra improv session at Justice Comes Alive. Butler’s Everyone Orchestra has become a staple of music festivals and a high point of musical collaboration for any gathering. While Butler has perfected the art of putting the scene’s best and brightest musicians together in a pot like gumbo, the constraints of live stream concerts have added a new twist to the equation. In a recent guest article on Live For Live Music, Butler broke down how he’s transitioning the EO formula to the digital stage while keeping the project’s essence of improvisation and spontaneity intact.
Related: 5 Mystifying Instrumentalists Performing At Justice Comes Alive [Videos]
Butler will once again be employing those same tactics as he conducts this fresh crop of Everyone Orchestra musicians. For JCA, Everyone Orchestra will consist of JCA co-host/saxophonist James Casey and vocalist Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band), guitarist Al Schnier (moe.), keyboardist Aron Magner (The Disco Biscuits), guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, violinist Bridget Law, bassist Kai Eckhardt (Garaj Mahal), percussionist Weedie Braimah, and Butler serving as the conductor as well as the drummer. This ensemble will improvise on a new composition of Butler’s, “Family Legacy”, just for the occasion.
Justice Comes Alive will also feature a special tribute supergroup in the form of the MoTown GetDown. Headed by keyboardist Casey Russell (Magic Beans), the man behind Live For Live Music‘s long-running Purple Party: A Celebration of Prince tribute concerts, MoTown GetDown will serve as the follow-up to the remote edition of the Purple Party which closed down Quarantine Comes Alive in May. This time around, the collective will pay homage to iconic Detroit record label, Motown, which produced countless hits and successful artists and played a pivotal role in the racial integration of popular music in the U.S. by repeatedly achieving crossover, mainstream success.
In addition to Russell, MoTown GetDown will feature some of the finest players the Denver music scene has to offer including Kim Dawson (Pimps of Joytime, Matador! Soul Sounds), Lyle Divinsky (The Motet), Isaac Teel (TAUK), Thomas Jennings (Mama Magnolia), Will Trask (Great American Taxi), Steve Swatkins (Allen Stone, The Postive Agenda), and a handful of The Soul Rebels horns in Erion Williams, Paul Robertson, and Julian Gosin.
For more information or to donate and secure your streaming link for Justice Comes Alive on Sunday, June 28th, head to www.JusticeComesAlive.com. For updates, follow Justice Comes Alive on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and RSVP to the Facebook Event Page.
