New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Capitol Records) -
Michael Franti & Spearhead return with their much anticipated album, THE SOUND OF SUNSHINE, this Tuesday,
September 21st through Capitol Records/Boo Boo Wax. THE SOUND OF SUNSHINE is Michael Franti & Spearhead's seventh studio album and the follow-up to 2008's Top 40 hit All
Rebel Rockers. The album's first single and title track, 'The Sound of Sunshine' was No 1 at AAA for 8 weeks and is currently in the Top 30 at Hot AC. You can check out the video here.
Franti & Spearhead will also be appearing on both The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Lopez Tonight on the day of the album's release performing 'The Sound of Sunshine'. Check your local listings and be sure to tune in.
In support of the album, Franti kicked off a national tour this past Saturday in Portland, OR and will make stops in many cities throughout the U.S. and Canada including NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto. As a part of Franti's partnership with international shoe charity, Soles4Souls, eight cities on the tour will be a part of a 'Barefoot Concert Series' (dates noted below). The series is part of a Franti/Soles4Souls effort to sponsor 100,000 pairs of shoes to raise awareness of the need for footwear both nationally and internationally.
THE SOUND OF SUNSHINE was conceived after Franti was hospitalized for a ruptured appendix in August 2009. 'Music is sunshine. It gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose. You can't hold it in your hands, smell it, taste it or even see it, yet somehow just coming together and feeling these little vibrations that tickle our eardrums can somehow lift us all up out of our most difficult moments in life to unimaginable heights,' says Franti.
The band began recording the album in Jamaica with legendary producers Sly and Robbie (Bob Dylan, Carlos Santana, No Doubt) as well as in Franti's home in Bali and hometown of San Francisco. With the record still not complete, Franti decided to bring a mobile studio on the road with him while he toured with John Mayer this past winter. The album was finished in dressing rooms and hotel rooms along the way with Franti playing songs he had recorded earlier in the day to the audience that evening.
Michael Franti is the creator and lead singer of Michael Franti & Spearhead. For over two decades, the Bay Area born Franti has been bringing our world exceptionally powerful, deeply felt music. Franti first formed the punk band The Beatnigs while studying at the University of San Francisco, and later the far more hip hop-inflected The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. In the mid-Nineties, Franti created Spearhead,
and increasingly in recent years, he's found his own voice musically and his own organic brand of popular success. Franti's impressive series of recordings have vividly reflected his status as a musical citizen of the world.
For ticket information, official Michael Franti news and to check out the latest v-blogs on FrantiV, go to www.michaelfranti.com.
Fall Tour Dates:
September 18 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
September 19 - Laytonville, CA - Earth Dance Festival
September 22** - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia
September 23 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
September 24 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
September 25 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
September 26 - Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum Theater
September 28 - Oklahoma City, OK - Bricktown Events Center
September 29 Austin, TX Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheatre
September 30 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
October 1 - Little Rock, AR - The Village
October 2 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
October 5 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
October 6 - Lincoln, NE - Rococo
October 7** - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
October 8** Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
October 9 - Madison, WI - Overture Center for the Arts
October 11 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
October 13** - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
October 14 - Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Theatre
October 15 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
October 16 - Pensacola Beach, FL - De Luna Festival
October 18 - Lexington, KY - Buster's
October 19 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
October 20 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Nightclub
October 22 - Covington, KY (Cincinnati) - Madison Theatre
October 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
October 24 - Buffalo, NY - The Town Ballroom
October 25 - Albany, NY - Northern Lights
October 28** - New York, NY - Terminal 5
October 29 - Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theatre
October 30** - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
November 1 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre
November 2 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre
November 3 - Ithaca, NY - State Theatre
November 5 - Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
November 6 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
November 7 - Concord, NH - Capitol Center
November 9 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
November 10 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
November 12 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
November 13** - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
November 14** - Pontiac, MI (Detroit) - Crofoot Ballroom
**part of Barefoot Concert Series
