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MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD (8:30 pm Saturday) blends hip hop with funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. Frontman Franti is a Bay Area-based poet, musician, composer, filmmaker and event producer as well as an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues, even traveling to Iraq, Palestine and Israel to explore the human cost of war with a group of friends, some video cameras and his guitar, an experience from which he produced the film, I Know I'm Not Alone. Franti is a vegan who has been walking through life barefoot since 2000. http://www.myspace.com/michaelfranti
INDIA.ARIE (7:30 pm Sunday) is a multi-platinum selling singer known and cherished by fans and fellow musicians as a poet, songwriter, daughter, producer, musician, sister, singer, advocate, friend and philanthropist –– but she is possibly best known for the love in her music that has inspired and motivated people worldwide. Influenced heavily by her mother, India’s mission is to spread love, healing and peace through the power of words and music. She actively supports UNICEF and AIDS research, and her honors include 17 Grammy nominations, 2 Grammy Awards, 4 NAACP Image Awards, and various awards from BET, Billboard, MTV, VH–1, Vogue, Essence, and others. India.Arie’s new album is Testimony: Vol. 2, Love&Politics. http://www.myspace.com/indiaarie
MATISYAHU (4:30 pm Sunday & 11:45 pm Saturday) A blend of traditional values and contemporary vision, the American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician Matisyahu has studied Torah at Hadar Hatorah as well as performed on David Letterman, MTV and VH1. The wisdom of his faith is expressed through his unique musical style, a blend of reggae, rap, funk, rock, beatboxing and cantor-like chants. In 2006, he was named Top Reggae Artist by Billboard magazine and was recently named a spokesperson for clothing designer Kenneth Cole. He will be performing songs from his new album “Light” with his new band, The Dub Trio. http://www.myspace.com/matisyahu
K’NAAN (5:45 pm Saturday & 11:00 pm Friday) In a country whose name is synonymous with strife, it's easy to brand Somalian K'NAAN with the "political rapper" tag. But this emcee is creating his own musical path through reggae, funk, pop, soul and above all, hip-hop. His sophomore album The Troubadour was recorded at Bob Marley's Kingston studio and released in January, 2009. It represents the sum of his life experiences in his homeland. For critics who have said that hip hop has nothing left to say, Troubadour proves that it all depends on where you look. This artist has a lot more to share in the coming years. www.myspace.com/knaanmusic
CAKE (8:30 pm Friday) Seventeen years from their inception, CAKE is still an outsider, defiantly and proudly cutting their own path. Both their music and their way of operating in the ever-evolving marketplace are fueled by the same core principles of self-reliance, democracy, and integrity that inspired their formation. CAKE's 2009 studio album will be the first project created in their new studio, overhauled to run entirely on solar power. Harmony welcomes back this conscious group. http://www.myspace.com/cake
REV. MICHAEL BECKWITH WITH RICKIE BYARS BECKWITH AND THE AGAPE SOCIAL PROPHET CHOIR (12:00 noon Sunday) The Agape International Choir began as a 30-voice holiday season presentation in December of 1988 and is now a multiethnic group led by Rickie Byars Beckwith with an average roster of 200 members whose voices have been heard from Santa Monica to South Central; from Somalia to South Africa; from all across the United States to all around the world. http://www.agapelive.com
SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL-STARS (3:30 pm Saturday) tour the world spreading their message of peace and love in a "can't help but dance" show that fans from all musical backgrounds can enjoy. With a spirited fusion of traditional West African music, roots reggae and rhythmic traditional folk, the All-Stars craft music that transforms and uplifts. Born in the midst of a violent, decade-long civil war, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars have found a place of refuge through music, a sense of purpose and a source of power. Each song is an original composition written during their years in exile and features field recordings from the refugee camps in Guinea. While each of the stories in these songs is told from the band's personal experience, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars’ messages of hope, healing and peace are truly universal. Through their unflinching spirit and joyful sound they celebrate the best in all of us. http://www.myspace.com/therefugeeallstars
CIPES & THE PEOPLE (1:30 pm Friday) are an electrifying 21st century conscious, roots-rock band that fully captures the power and spirit of oneness in a joyful celebration of love and music. They return to Harmony, with lead singer Greg Cipes also doing MC duty. http://www.myspace.com/cipesandthepeople
THE DUHKS (2:45 pm Friday & 6:45 pm Saturday) French-Canadian born siblings The Duhks are a spot-on fusion of traditional bluegrass, folk rock, Afro-Cuban jazz, gospel, Celtic and soul featuring new frontwoman and bilingual, budding soul queen, Sarah Dugas. Environmental issues are a passion for the band, inspiring them to launch The Duhks Sustainability Project. The band’s goal is to tour on as sustainable a basis as possible, fueling their vehicle with Biodiesel, supporting local organic farmers wherever they go, wearing sustainable eco-conscious clothing, using earth-friendly shampoos, soaps, and cosmetics and offsetting remaining CO2 emissions with carbon credits. http://www.myspace.com/theduhks
ALO (4:15 pm Friday) Harmony welcomes back the California based four-piece collective of Zach Gill (keyboards/vocals), Steve Adams (bass/vocals), Dan Lebowitz (guitars/vocals) and Dave Brogan (drums/vocals), more commonly known as ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra). After touring with Jack Johnson, who signed them to his label Brushfire Records, the guys had the pivotal opening slot on one of the year's highest-grossing tours with Dave Matthews Band. Their latest album Roses and Clover--"roses and clover being the intersection of passion and luck--was released May 1st. http://www.myspace.com/alomusic
STEVE KIMOCK’S CRAZY ENGINE (6:15 pm Friday) pushes the boundaries of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, gospel and soul. Their repertoire includes Kimock classics as well as an energized catalogue of covers and fresh material. This new project will also feature legendary Hammond B3 player, Melvin Seals, best known for his work with the Jerry Garcia Band. The glistening new line up also includes the cookin' rhythm section of Janis Wallin on bass (Family Groove Company) and Kimock's son, John Morgan Kimock, on drums. Vocals feature the soulful crooning of Cheryl Rucker and Shirley Starks. http://www.myspace.com/stevekimock
SHABAZ (2:30 pm Sunday) from Pakistan showcases the voices of siblings Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Salamat, who represent eleven generations of Muslim vocal history with a modern global dance floor sensibility (formerly the Ali Khan Band). http://www.rhapsody.com/shabaz
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