I am excited to announce that the Playing For Change crew will be leaving for Japan this weekend! We have been hard at work this past year creating new Songs Around the World, and we are very excited to have the opportunity to add Japanese musicains to these tracks. Japan has a unique and beautiful culture, and we know that we are all in for a real treat. And we are looking forward to sharing this experience with the Playing For Change Family!
Make sure to keep checking the website, facebook, twitter, and flickr, as we'll be posting updates daily! We have already lined up some amazing musicians for our time in Japan, but we are always on the lookout for more. If you know of any musicains living in Tokyo that you would like to introduce us to, mail us at info@playingforchange.com, and tell us all about them! Playing For Change is a musical movement built by the world, and we always love to hear from you.
I originally wrote this blog high in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica last week-- unfortunately we did not have internet access in that beautiful part of the world, so I am only just now able to post it, having just gotten back to LA...
Wow, it feels great to be in Jamaica.Such a beautiful place with beautiful people.Naturally, with that comes beautiful music.We have only been here two days and have already met, filmed, recorded, and embraced some of the most talented musicians we have ever encountered.A big thank you to Courtney and Sean Diedrick, who showed us some serious love and not to mention brought some serious fire to our songs.After landing in Montego Bay we shuttled to Discovery Bay to film at some extraordinary and “real” Jamaican locations.From Discovery Bay we crossed the island through mountains to Kingston.As I write this we are 4000 feet up in the Blue Mountains outside of Kingston.Truly a country filled with a rich culture and proud people.You can feel the history and legacy that Bob Marley has left here as one of the great ambassadors of music and peace in the world.No place is this more evident than in Kingston.I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings
Its all about RESPECT here in Jamaica.Earn their respect and they will certainly win yours.
Hello Everyone! I have a quick announcement to share. Tickets for the band's Fall Tour will go on-sale to the general public on Friday, September 10th. Members of the PFC Community will have access to a special pre-sale beginning Friday, August 20th. If you are not already a member of the PFC Community, you can join by clicking here. I hope to see you on the road!
I am thrilled to announce that the Playing For Change Band is back by popular demand, and is getting ready to kick off a Fall Tour visiting 30+ cities in the U.S. and Canada! And, over the course of their tour the band will be making special stops in communities all along the way to meet with "Changemakers."
We want to hear from you! If you live in one of the cities the band is performing in, and you or someone you know is making a positive contribution in your community, please send your story to housecall@playingforchange.com. We may feature your story on our website and what is more, the Playing For Change Band may pay you a visit this Fall at your home, school, hospital, community center-- or wherever you may be!
To be clear, this is not a contest-- we are not looking for the "best" or most amazing stories. We just want to share some of the good things people are doing to make the world a better place. And if you are interested in helping spread the message of Playing For Change, please email us at peacesoldier@playingforchange.com for information-- we want your help!
PFC Founder Mark Johnson is currently on location in Jamaica working on new Songs Around The World. He just sent this video explaining the upcoming Tour and this exciting opportunity to meet the band-- check it out:
The PFC Band is coming to a community near you! ($1 of every concert ticket purchased goes to benefit the Playing For Change Foundation, building music and art schools in communities around the world.) Below is the current line-up for the PFC Band's Fall Tour; we hope to see you at a show!
A dear friend of mine was married last weekend in Montana. A couple days before the wedding I was surprised and pleased to learn that she and her fiance had chosen one of Playing For Change's songs to be featured at their wedding: The Omagh Community Youth Choir's version (arranged by Daryl Simpson) of Bono's original "Love Rescue Me." They asked me to sit in on a rehearsal the night before their wedding, where a band made up of the bride's closest friends and family was preparing their musical accompaniment for the ceremony. They had a copy of our "Songs Around the World" release, and after listening to the track through a couple times they asked me to talk about the significance of the song.
I explained the history of the choir-- that it was founded by Daryl Simpson shortly after a terrible bombing that took place in Omagh, Northern Ireland in 1998. He created the choir in an effort to bring peace and reconciliation to the community and to bring Catholic and Protestant young people together through music. His vision was so perfectly aligned with ours that as soon as we learned about his organization our crew began making plans to film and record the choir.
The healing and connective power of Music touches us all throughout our lives-- sometimes in ways so subtle that we barely take notice, and other times so profoundly that our life's path pivots on the spot, transposing itself into an entirely new key. The next day these thoughts played along in my subconscious as I joyously watched my friend exchange vows with her groom while music filled the air.
