Michael Franti & Spearhead continue to travel the country presenting the first-ever music and yoga tour, Soulshine, featuring special guest artists SOJA, Brett Dennen, Trevor Hall, Sonna Rele, and acclaimed yoga teachers such as Ryan Leier, Baron Baptiste, and Seane Corn. Bridging daytime and evening experiences including live music, yoga, sustainable living activities and DJ performances, Soulshine is one of the most anticipated all-ages summer tours hitting outdoor amphitheatres across the country throughout July 2014 and continuing until August 2, 2014 when the tour makes its final stop in Nashville, TN at The Woods @ Fontanel. A bona fide family affair set at an affordable ticket price, Soulshine embodies the spirit of these performing artists' love of music, dance, yoga, the environment, and bringing the community together for a full-blown dance party! Artist interviews and hi-res photos are available upon request.
With more than 15 million Americans practicing yoga, the Soulshine tour promotes healthy living with on-premise pop-up "yoga villages" providing 1,000 - 2,500 mats to concert-goers (number of mats differs for each venue; minimal additional fee is required for participation); "yoga villages" turn into an evening DJ tent, art gallery and local musicians platform during the main stage performances. Soulshine incorporates yoga networks from around the nation by inviting the founders, teachers and students of renowned studios to participate in the "yoga villages" in their respective cities. Italian-rooted and Napa Valley-based winery and restaurant, Ca'Momi, sponsors the tour as they share in the philosophy of sustainability and mindful presence in both business and personal relationships. Mantra and Origin magazines are the official media partners of the Soulshine tour.
Afternoons on the Soulshine tour begin with a mass yoga and acoustic music jam with Michael Franti & Friends, led by some of today's most inspiring North American teachers. Each yoga session is designed for people of all experience levels, ages, shapes and sizes and features various artists participating side-by-side with fans. Afternoon activities then give way to four full music sets by the singular headlining acts.
Franti has been practicing yoga for over 12 years, and has graced the covers of numerous lifestyle publications including Yoga Journal, Origin, Mantra and Yoga. Celebrated yoga teachers Ryan Leier, Baron Baptiste and Seane Corn head up the daily sessions. Please see the yoga teachers and performing artists' bios below for more detailed information.
Soulshine Performing Artists & Yoga Teachers Bios:
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Over the course of his acclaimed career, Michael Franti & Spearhead has earned a reputation as one of the most electrifying and ultimately unforgettable live acts in the business. Michael Franti has sold more than 2.5 million singles of his hit song "Say Hey (I Love You)", and has charted his albums on Billboard's "Top 40" along with frequent appearances on David Letterman, Leno, Conan, Oprah, Ellen and CNN. In addition to being a leading social activist, Franti has diligently created and supported numerous environmental and humanitarian causes, which speaks to the evolution of sounds featured on his latest album, All People (Boo Boo Wax/Capitol Records: July 2013). In the foreground are colossal dance beats and dizzying electronic effects, while Franti's lyrical sincerity shines bright as he sings about what moves him most.
SOJA
On Tuesday, April 29, 2014, reggae sensation SOJA releases the track "I Believe" featuring Michael Franti and Nahko on ATO Records. Co-written by Franti, "I Believe" marks the first single on SOJA's forthcoming full-length album hitting stores later this year. SOJA's non-stop touring, headlining and selling out large theaters in more than 20 countries, sharing stages with the likes of Dave Matthews Band and Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley, have helped generate over 60 million YouTube views, 3 million Facebook fans, and an almost Grateful Dead-like international fan base. Over the past few years, they've sold more than 200,000 albums, including their critically acclaimed 2012 release, Strength To Survive (ATO Records), which made an impassioned call for unity and change with universally relatable songs about faith, hope and love.
Brett Dennen
Northern California's Brett Dennen's 2013 album, Smoke and Mirrors, is the folk-pop singer-songwriter's strongest recording effort yet. Led by the cheerful, hook-heavy single "Wild Child," Dennen's fifth release shifts effortlessly from lilting, breezy pop ("You Make It Easy") to heartfelt balladry ("Only Want You"). His nostalgic "When We Were Young" urges maturing rock fans to turn up their radios and stay forever young. Dennen was named by Rolling Stone magazine as an "Artist to Watch" and, in 2008, Entertainment Weekly called him one of its eight "Guys on the Rise."
Trevor Hall
Trevor Hall's career quickly broke through the music scene with a song placement on the Shrek the Third soundtrack, as well as Trevor joining a series of sold-out tours with artists such as Steel Pulse, The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Matisyahu, Michael Franti and Colbie Callait. Trevor's self-titled debut album peaked on Billboard's Heatseeker chart at #7 in 2009, he was named one of the "Top 20 New Artists" by Music Connection magazine, MTV named him one of the twenty emerging artists for 2010, and in 2012 CBS used his hit "Brand New Day" for the promo of their CBS This Morning show. His most recent album, Everything, Everytime, Everywhere, reached #80 on the Billboard "Top 200" chart. Trevor is scheduled to release a new album later this year.
Sonna Rele
Sonna is a London based singer-songwriter signed to Motown by 3x Grammy Winner, NE-YO. Her musical influences point to a wise head on young shoulders with Stevie Wonder and the Beatles sitting alongside Nelly Furtado and Michael Jackson. With the inspiration of her parents, both professional musicians, never far from the surface, Sonna describes her sound as "stripped back acoustic-based songs mixed with the sound and pulse of a world-beat underneath it". Sonna has performed across the globe with acts ranging from John Legend to Maxi Priest and collaborated with such artists as Matisyahu, Wyclef Jean and Michael Franti.
Ryan Leier
Based in Canada and a yoga ambassador to communities across the globe, yoga guru Ryan Leier is the founder of One Yoga studios and Vinyasa Yoga for Youth, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth through the practice of yoga. Leier heads up the daily Soulshine sessions, bringing his innovative style of assimilating ancient traditions with a contemporary flow to the masses.
Baron Baptiste
International best-selling author/teacher Baron Baptiste is a global force transforming the face of modern yoga. Baptiste's revolutionary Baptiste Yoga methodologies have become essential parts of society's popular thinking on well-being. In addition to inspiring more than 40 Baptiste Yoga affiliated studios throughout the world, Baptiste has served as the Peak Performance Specialist for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles (for four years in the mid 90's) and currently focuses his energies toward fractured communities long plagued by poverty and violence. In 2007, along with Paige Elenson, Baron helped found the non-profit Africa Yoga Project, based in Nairobi, Kenya and dedicated to transforming the lives of impoverished youth through teaching the practices and techniques of Baptiste Yoga. Over 4,000 students attend the Africa Yoga Project courses each week, free of charge, which are delivered by 60 Kenyan teachers personally taught by Baptiste.
Seane Corn
Seane Corn is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher known for her impassioned activism and unique teaching style incorporating both the physical and mystical aspects of yoga practice. Corn integrates dynamic vinyasa flow asana (linking movement with breath) with the application of precise alignment, meditation, visualization, intention and prayer to create an inner journey towards healing and empowerment. Since she began her teaching career in 1994, many yoga, health and wellness sources have sought her insight and expertise. Corn has appeared on more than twenty magazine covers, she was a featured yoga contributor for Oprah.com's "Spirit" section and has been on The Today Show with Matt Lauer.
For full tour information, including announcements regarding newly confirmed tour dates and on-sale information, please visit: www.MichaelFranti.com and www.Soulshine.com
Soulshine Summer 2014 Tour Dates:
TUE 7/1/14 -- Missoula, MT -- Big Sky Brewery
WED 7/2/14 -- Sun Valley, ID -- Sun Valley Center
THU 7/3/14 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- USANA
SAT 7/5/14 -- Santa Fe, NM -- The Downs at Santa Fe
SUN 7/6/14 -- Denver, CO -- Red Rocks
TUE 7/8/14 -- Kansas City, MO -- Crossroads
THU 7/10/14 -- Chicago, IL -- FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
FRI 7/11/14 -- Minneapolis, MN -- Basilica Block Party*
SAT 7/12/14 -- Des Moines, IA -- Simon Estes
SUN 7/13/14 -- Indianapolis, IN -- The Lawn @ White River State Park
TUE 7/15/14 -- Toronto, ON -- TD Echobeach
THU 7/17/14 -- Asbury Park, NJ -- Stone Pony Summer Stage
FRI 7/18/14 -- Boston, MA -- Bank of America Pavilion
SAT 7/19/14 -- Gilford, NH -- Bank of NH Pavilion
MON 7/21/14 -- New York, NY -- Pier 97
TUE 7/22/14 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Skyline Stage at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts
THU 7/24/14 -- Floyd, VA -- FloydFest*
FRI 7/25/14 -- Wilmington, NC -- Battleship Park
SAT 7/26/14 -- Portsmouth, VA -- nTelos Pavilion
SUN 7/27/14 -- Charlotte, NC -- Uptown Amphitheater at The Music Factory
TUE 7/29/14 -- Boca Raton, FL -- Sunset Cove Amphitheater
WED 7/30/14 -- St Augustine, FL -- St Augustine Amphitheater
FRI 8/1/14 -- Atlanta, GA -- Masquerade Park
SAT 8/2/14 -- Nashville, TN -- The Woods @ Fontanel
*Michael Franti & Spearhead only
