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 Nick Cassarino (The Nth Power) and Erin Boyd (Phantom Vanity), who performed a pair of covers that appropriately reflected this strangest of years. Boyd introduced the first song of the segment by noting, “There’s so much work for us to do, and I’m just so happy that the work is getting done. … Black lives matter, Black trans lives matter, Black children matter, Black mental health matters, Black rest matters… Black Lives Matter, y’all. That’s really what we need to remember to keep in the forefront of all of this.”
With that, Cassarino jumped into an impressive guitar arrangement of Stephen Stills classic, “Love The One You’re With”, with Boyd leading the way on vocals. As people remain (relatively) locked down around the country, this homage to acceptance and silver linings has become an uplifting anthem for many, and this version puts an exciting new spin on the beloved tune.
For the second song of their Justice Comes Alive segment, Erin and Nick were joined by Nick’s parents, Paul and Tracie Cassarino, who provided backing vocals on a moving rendition of James Taylor‘s “Shed A Little Light”. As Nick noted to introduce the song, a celebration of the unifying teachings of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, “We’re here to say Black Lives Matter, and we stand with you to fight and end systemic racism in America.”
Relive the Nick Cassarino & Erin Boyd segment 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.
Nick Cassarino & Erin Boyd – “Love The One You’re With” (Stephen Stills), “Shed A Little Light” (James Taylor) – 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.