Michael Franti Brings Up! Festival Down Under

by lkatulka on August 2nd, 2007

Regular visitor to Aussie shores, Michael Franti, is heading to Oz with the Up! Festival next month. His band Spearhead will join local artists Ben Lee, Blue King Brown and Old Man River on the impressive bill.The Up! Festival won’t have a preachy political focus, but it does look to inspire people and get out to do good things.

“My goal is to put on a kick-ass f*cking show!” he said in an official press release. “When people leave the festival, I want them to feel inspired and motivated. We are living in an era of cynicism. One thing that kills cynicism for me is a healthy dose if fun.”

Bootleggers are in for a treat, as Franti is actually encouraging people to record the shows.

“I want to encourage people to have their voices heard and get used to that. One way of giving back to the community is allowing everyone to record, videotape, upload, download, blog any way they can and share it. All cameras, phones, audio recorders are legal! Everything’s legal at the Up! Festival.”

In the interests of keeping things green, Michael Franti will join environmental groups to recycle and offset the shows’ energy through carbon neutralizing and wind farms.

The Up! Festival kicks off in Perth on September 14, before visiting the rest of Australia. Visit Frontier Touring for a complete list of dates, and grab your tickets before they sell out!

Image source: Up! Festival MySpace