New York, NY (Top40 Charts) MICKI FREE - the Grammy-winning musical artist, 5X Native American
Music Award-winner, 2022 The Native American
Music Awards Hall of Fame inductee, and member of Shalamar USA - has been chosen to be an official "Envoy" for the World Culture Festival the Olympic-scale, free-to-the-public (with website registration) unity celebration. Founded by Indian guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, it is taking place
September 29-October 1 at The
National Mall in Washington, DC. On the event's opening day, FREE will lead the "1,000+ Guitar Ensemble" in a performance of his new single, "We Are One," on
September 29 at The
National Mall in Washington, DC.
"
We Are One" was written, produced, and arranged by FREE specifically for the World Culture Festival. He performs lead vocals and lead & rhythm guitar with assistance from longtime friend and collaborator Cindy Blackman-Santana (drums), Ken Riley (bass, backing vocals) and Lila Gale (backing vocals). It's out digitally today on Spotify or Apple
Music along with a serene, picturesque lyric video seen streaming below or directly via YouTube.
FREE, who recently relocated to Las Vegas, NV and has a monthly residency every first Monday at Backstage Bar & Billiards, will perform "
We Are One" live on the "Morning Blend" show on Vegas' ABC Affiliate KTNV (Channel 13) on
September 13 (the show airs from 9:00-10:00 AM).
"I met with Sri Sri Gurudev
Ravi Shankar and his message moved me to want to join him in getting our human beings to understand 'We Are One,' shares FREE. "That all peoples of the world are united as ONE…we should love and care about each other, and there's no cosmic meaning, my message is in the lyric; simple; 'WE ARE ONE.'"
FREE elaborates on how the World Culture Festival performance came together, stating: "A good friend of my manager, Heather Loren, invited us to meet Gurudev, as they wanted my help inviting Native American Tribes across our country to join the festival in song and dance. The committee then asked if I would lead the guitar players in song, and I accepted, then I did one better and WROTE them the song we will all be performing! We as indigenous peoples need to take the stage on opening day and show the world our positive energy!"
"We are honored we were asked to be part of such a worldly, heartfelt positive joining of cultures from all parts of the globe," says FREE. "I'm excited to perform on the global stage and see other performers as well! It will be like a world love & peace party, sharing peace and harmony, asking the world to please come together as one."
FREE has been on the cutting-edge of the music industry from the start of his career. Having been signed to a management deal with
Gene Simmons and
Diana Ross that launched his career, FREE joined the legendary R&B group Shalamar where he became friends with Prince. After his departure in the early 90's, FREE continued his solo career appearing on both the stage and in the studio with iconic artists including
Carlos Santana,
Janet Jackson, KISS,
Little Steven Van Zandt, Aerosmith,
Neil Young and Bill Wyman, just to name a few.
His most recent album, TURQUOISE BLUE, was released via the Dark Idol
Music label distributed by Burnside Distribution / The Orchard / Sony and features guest musicians including Gary Clark Jr., Steve Stevens, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and Cindy Blackman Santana. FREE recently collaborated on a new version of the album's single "World On Fire (Warrior Remix)" with Blackman
Santana and her fellow
Santana band members Karl Perazzo and Andy Vargas.
Born mixed blood Cherokee/Comanche Native American and Irish descent, FREE has mastered the Native American flute and in addition to his guitar-driven blues rock albums has recorded five flute music albums. He has used his platform to advocate for the Native American community and created the Native
Music Rocks program, which gives Native American musicians performance opportunities and also founded the first Native American record company (Native
Music Rocks Records).
In its fourth iteration, the World Culture Festival will be an Olympic-scale celebration, with expected participation from over 180 countries and thousands of diverse artists. Backed by Hargrove, a renowned world-class production company with over seven decades of expertise in outdoor event productions including numerous Presidential Inaugurations, and produced by Emmy-nominee Robert Pullen, the WCF will be held at the
National Mall in Washington, DC on
September 29-October. Registration is available for free at www.worldculturefest.org.
In its last three editions, WCF reached over six million people in-person and drove hundreds of millions of views online, making it the most successful recurring global artistic event in human history. Visitors from every corner of the globe can be a part of the World Culture Festival, honoring our rich human diversity expressed through music, art, food, dance, meditation and inspirational talks. This landmark event will bring the world together in celebration to uplift the human spirit and reaffirm a collective commitment to peace and unity.
