Democracy Comes Alive, a One-Day Virtual Music Festival to Promote Participation in Democracy with Appearances by Members of The Grateful Dead, Michael Franti, Billy Strings & More

On Saturday, October 3rd at 1PM ET, Live For Live Music, in partnership with HeadCount, presents Democracy Comes Alive, a one-day virtual music festival to promote voter participation. The election this November may be the most important of our lifetime, and Democracy Comes Alive aims to channel the power of music to make a critical impact on voter participation this year and promote awareness of Americans’ sacred Constitutional right to vote.

Powered by Nugs.TV and Plus1, the event is the latest in a virtual series from the creators of Quarantine Comes Alive and Justice Comes Alive, which each garnered over 200,000 viewers and raised a combined $230,000 for various COVID-19 relief and social justice organizations. This latest installment aims to channel the momentum of the previous virtual festivals toward increasing voter participation. 

Rather than conversations about partisan issues, discussions with guest speakers between performances will focus on the history of voting rights and examine what it took for everyone—from the original founding fathers to women, Black, indigenous, people of color, and more—to gain the Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. Democracy Comes Alive will also provide tips and information regarding best voting practices and the most effective ways to research representatives at a national, state, and local level.

“People have fought and died, and are still fighting, for the universal right to vote in this country,” says Kunj Shah, founder of Live For Live Music, Justice Comes Alive, and Quarantine Comes Alive, to name a few. “However, so many of our country’s eligible citizens still do not wield this awesome power bestowed upon them, which in turn leads to presidents and representatives enacting laws that aren’t in their best interest. Democracy works best when all citizens of a country participate, so we’re looking to encourage just that with Democracy Comes Alive, alongside the support of HeadCount,” Shah adds.

Andy Bernstein, who co-found HeadCount in 2004, understands music’s power to drive meaningful social change. “This lineup features so many champions of democracy,” says Bernstein. “Many of these artists have been HeadCount supporters since all the way back to 2004. And the younger acts have been championing democracy from the beginning of their careers. Right now, during this election, is when we all need to be fighting for democracy.”
The event, hosted by SiriusXM’s Ari Fink, will require fans to check their voter registration or make a donation to HeadCount in order to receive a streaming link for the show. Committed to promoting involvement in democracy, HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters, reaching both young people and music fans where they are to inform and empower. Since 2004, they have signed up over 600,000 voters through their work with touring musicians like Ariana Grande, Dead & Company, and Beyoncé, to name a few, at events like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and more.

Participating artists on the lineup span an eclectic range of genres, presenting everything from bluegrass to singer-songwriters, jam bands to indie rock, to funk, soul to Americana and more. With all-new performances from each artist on the lineup, an exciting music experience awaits for any music fan to enjoy.

Starting today, fans are encouraged to visit democracycomesalive.com and RSVP. Those who check their voter registration status or make a donation of any size in advance will receive an email with a link to the stream the event on the day of the show, Saturday, October 3rd.

Democracy Comes Alive Performances By:

ALO
Andy Frasco
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
Big Something
Billy Strings
Bruce Hornsby
The California Honeydrops
Cris Jacobs
David Shaw (The Revivalists)
DAWES
Dopapod
Dumpstaphunk
Fruition
G. Love
The Ghost of Paul Revere
Goose
Here Come The Mummies
Hiss Golden Messenger
Joey Porter (feat. Nigel Hall & Sonata Porter)
Karina Rykman
Katie Pruitt
Kim Dawson
Kitchen Dwellers
Leslie Mendelson
Lettuce x Motet (Members)
Maggie Rose
Marco Benevento
Melvin Seals & JGB
Michael Franti
Moon Taxi
Neal Francis
Nicki Bluhm
The New Mastersounds
The Nth Power
Phil Lesh And Friends
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Reed Mathis & Electric Beethoven
Robert Walter
Ryan Montbleau
Shawn Colvin
Slightly Stoopid
Southern Avenue
Spafford
The String Cheese Incident (members)
The Suffers
Trampled By Turtles
Turkuaz
Umphrey’s Mcgee
Warren Haynes

Speakers:
Andy Bernstein (HeadCount)
Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead)
Bob Crawford (The Avett Brothers)
Bob Weir (Grateful Dead)
Jon Fishman (Phish)
Kunj Shah (Live For Live Music)
Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits)
Oteil Burbridge (Dead and Company)
Peter Shapiro (Brooklyn Bowl)
Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band)

Host:
Ari Fink (SiriusXM)

Tune in starting at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, October 3rd and visit democracycomesalive.com to secure your spot now! More information is available over at the event’s official Facebook page.