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 livestream marathon featured enlightening conversations and virtual performances by an array of artists from around the world including groove outfit The Funky Knuckles who performed a pair of originals for the occasion—one of them for the very first time.
The sextet opened the session with a bit of joke, attempting to harmonize as the internet latency showed just how hard it is to collaborate as a band during the age of isolation. This quickly gave way, however, to a wonderfully-edited rendition of the band’s recent composition, “Quarantine That A$$”. While not as much a completed song as it is a fun little jam, “Quarantine That A$$” showed that The Funky Knuckles are capable of working around the limitations imposed by quarantine to still kick out the jams.
Viewers were then greeted by drummer Cedric Moore and trumpeter Evan Weiss, who expressed their gratitude for being involved in Justice Comes Alive. Weiss prefaced the premiere of the band’s new song, “20/20”, by noting that while The Funky Knuckles are typically known for outrageous and zany videos, this was a time when they felt like being serious. The group then debuted “20/20”, a sobering slow jam, set to footage of recent marches for racial equality. The nearly seven-minute instrumental song saw the band explore a wide range of emotions as soaring horn and guitar solos eventually ceded to calming jazz grooves.
If you enjoyed the performance, please consider making a donation to Plus1 For Black Lives fund via www.JusticeComesAlive.com. Watch The Funky Knuckles’ full segment from Justice Comes Alive below:
The Funky Knuckles – “Quarantine That A$$, “20/20” – 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.