New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Universal
Music and Devon Gilfillian and
Friends announce "There's An Election Going On" - a livestream concert that will take place
Thursday October 1 at 8 PM ET in partnership with The Equity Alliance, Nugs.net and HeadCount.org. The artists will perform Marvin Gaye's classic album, What's Going On, live. The event will also include special guests playing songs of protest, freedom and community. In addition to Gilfillian, performers will include
Aaron Lee Tasjan, Breland, Drew Holcomb, Emoni Wilkins,
Grace Potter, Jason Eskridge, Jason Isbell, Joy Oladokun, Katie Pruitt, Kyshona Armstrong, Lera Lynn, Local Natives, The Lone Bellow, Nickie Conley and The War and Treaty. For further details, visit www.devongilfillian.com
An auction will take place in conjunction with the event. Proceeds from the event and auction will benefit Nashville-based grassroots non-profit The Equity Alliance.
Devon Gilfillian says:
I don't have much political power, but I do have the power of music. I decided I wanted to learn the entirety of Marvin Gaye's album, What's Going On, and use that music to raise money to fight voter suppression, bring people together, and share the message that Marvin was trying to get across. Marvin simply wanted this country to have a conversation, an informed conversation, on the injustice and pain that people are facing. To simply look at "what's going on." Almost 50 years ago, this album came out, and every word still rings with such relevance.
To bring this music to life, I brought together my favorite artists in Nashville and beyond - people who are passionate about the change that needs to happen. Also, I partnered with Equity Alliance and HeadCount for this mission. The Equity Alliance educates communities of color and low-income communities about the democratic process while fighting the voter suppression that still exists to this day in TN. HeadCount has also been on the front lines, making sure people have the tools to use their voice in this election coming up. To me, making our voices heard is the most important thing we can do. People have died for the right to vote in this country, and right now we see politicians making that harder for us.
Now is the time to fight.
Today's announcement coincides with
National Voter Registration Day 2020. To register to vote or to check your registration status, visit https://www.headcount.org.
Gilfillian's debut album,
Black Hole Rainbow, was released by Capitol Records earlier this year. It includes his top 15 AAA radio hit, "The Good Life," a rallying cry for inclusion. Streams of "
The Good Life" skyrocketed after Gilfillian performed the song on CBS This Morning Saturday. The collage-style lyric video for "
The Good Life" incorporates images that Gilfillian captured in Nashville over the summer, during the BLM protests.
American Songwriter hailed "
The Good Life" as "[a] soul-soothing ode to finding peace and beauty in life." The Tennessean hailed
Black Hole
Rainbow as "one of the best albums released this year, period." The album also won a spot on Iowa Public Radio's list of "The Best New Albums (So Far) Of 2020." The New York Times said, "Devon Gilfillian, a soul songwriter based in Nashville, made his formidable debut album,
Black Hole Rainbow, with Shawn Everett…warping vintage sounds toward something deep and strange."
Gilfillian performed the national anthem at NASCAR 2020 on the day they banned the Confederate flag. He recently launched The Good Life Fund, which supports organizations that are doing good in the world, including Give A Note Foundation and Rebuilding Together Nashville. Gilfillian has played numerous festivals, including Newport Folk and Montreal Jazz. He has supported such artists as Mavis Staples,
Grace Potter, Local Natives,
Lauren Daigle, KALEO, Michael McDonald, Chaka Kahn, Keith Urban, Gladys Knight,
Brothers Osborne and Michael Franti & Spearhead.
