Robert Plant, Joan Baez, and Ron Sexsmith are joining the Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour in select cities this month.
Also appearing at certain shows will be Ruby Amanfu and Nancy And Beth.
Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees will be headlined in North America by Grammy Award-winning artists Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, and The Milk Carton Kids.
“When I heard that some of my friends were rallying to do a series of concerts to help raise funds and awareness, to help address the basic needs of food, shelter and medical care, I wanted to help,” said Robert Plant. Mr. Plant had a hugely successful career with Led Zeppelin before embarking on an equally impressive and Grammy-winning career as a solo artist.
The tour is a benefit for Jesuit Refugee Service’s Global Education Initiative, which was launched in 2015 and endorsed by Pope Francis. JRS seeks to double the number of refugees served in its educational programs by 2020 to 240,000. JRS services are available to refugees and displaced persons regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or religious beliefs.
“When I watch the news and see people from these places being displaced by hatred and ignorance, I know that these people are just like you and me. All they want is to live in peace and have their children grow up loved, fed and educated,” said Mr. Plant.
Joan Baez has been as busy as ever since she celebrated the landmark years of 2008-2009, the 50th anniversaries of her legendary residency in 1958 at the famed Club 47 in Cambridge, and her subsequent debut at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival.
Ms. Baez remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable — marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King, inspiring Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, singing on the first Amnesty International tour and more recently, standing alongside Nelson Mandela when the world celebrated his 90th birthday in London’s Hyde Park.
Raised in the Niagara Falls area, Ron Sexsmith started his first band as a teenager. Marrying young and becoming a father inspired him to write his own music. After moving to Toronto, he began releasing original songs on cassette. Ron signed with Interscope and his Mitchell Froom-produced album debuted in 1995.
Mr. Sexsmith’s dream gig of headlining Toronto’s Massey Hall was achieved in 2006 and he has done so for every album release since then. His return to that stage in such illustrious company for a great cause is one Ron looks forward to with great anticipation.
Whether on Beyonce’s new album Lemonade, or singing her own songs, Ghana-born and Nashville-based singer/songwriter Ruby Amanfu’s voice is one you only have to hear once to remember forever. Not an artist to be pegged, Amanfu’s musical style knows no boundaries. She is ever inspired and grateful for the abundant opportunities she has been given to continue to create and inspire through music.
Nancy And Beth is an inventive new band featuring Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt, as well as five other accomplished musicians including vocalist and violinist Petra Haden. Tight harmonies, witty choreography, and songs from every genre and era are coupled with relaxed humor to form an inventive and celebratory musical experience.
The concerts start Thursday in Boulder and cross the continent before finishing in Washington, D.C.
• October 6, 2016 — Boulder Theater, Boulder, Colo.
• October 8, 2016 — Helzberg Hall, Kansas City, Mo
• October 9, 2016 — Rococo Theater, Lincoln, Neb.
• October 11, 2016 — Sheldon Concert Hall, St. Louis, Mo.
• October 12, 2016 — Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, Wisc. (with Ruby Amanfu and Robert Plant)
• October 13, 2016 — Vic Theater, Chicago, Ill. (with Ruby Amanfu and Robert Plant)
• October 14, 2016 — Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario (with Ron Sexsmith and Robert Plant)
• October 16, 2016 — Berklee Performance Center, Boston (with Nancy And Beth, and Robert Plant)
• October 18, 2016 — The Town Hall, New York City (with Nancy And Beth, Joan Baez, Robert Plant)
• October 19, 2016 — Merriam Theater, Philadelphia, Penns. (with Nancy And Beth, and Robert Plant)
• October 21, 2016 — Lisner Auditorium, Washington, D.C. (with Robert Plant)
For more information about Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees, visit www.jrsusa.org/lampedusa.
