Michael Franti likes to think of it as a βWhole Foods tailgate partyβ: Gather with a bunch of strangers who like your music and your message, ask them to bring a dish to pass and bond over some concentrated stretching and deep philosophical discussions.
In the world of celebrity meet-and-greets, this one could be the most interesting.
βI spent this last summer doing what we call yoga meet-ups before our shows. We let people know through Facebook and our other social media and we tell them where to meet,β Franti said early this month from home in San Francisco. βThe great thing about it is itβs a like yoga class, kind of light and playful. But then we have a chance to sit around and talk.β
Itβs all part of Michael Franti & Spearheadβs Love Out Loud Tour, which he is bringing to the 2017 Oro Valley Music Festival Sunday, Oct. 1. Franti and the band are set to perform early evening just ahad of Gavin DeGraw on day two of the third annual festival.
βWeβre just super excited,β said Franti, who has been a regular to Rialto Theatre over the years, including a show in August 2016. βWe play festivals all summer long and itβs kind of our favorite thing to do. We love the energy of people ... and celebrating life through music.β
Franti is on a lineup that includes LeAnn Rimes, the indie-pop sibling act Echosmith and headliners Train.
βWe love Train and Iβve known Pat (lead singer Patrick Monahan) for 20 years. Weβre good buddies; we text each other all over the world,β said the 50-year-old Franti, who has shared the stage with Train a number of times over the years.
Frantiβs show will draw from his 2016 album βSoul Rockerβ and tracks β a fusion of pop, reggae, rap, rock and spoken word β from the eight other albums heβs released in his nearly 25-year career. Expect an energetic romp and donβt be surprised if Franti pops into the crowd. Itβs his career-long MO.
He might also sprinkle in some political commentary; the topic of climate control is weighing on his mind after having to cancel a couple shows this summer due to the Western wildfires.
βYou know when youβre at a campfire and suddenly the wind shifts your way and thereβs all this smoke and heat in your face. When we got off the tour bus thatβs what it felt like,β he said of an Oregon show in August. βThe National Weather Service listed it as βhazardousβ. We were like this is not good.β
βWhen we are putting the millions of tons of carbon emissions in the air, it has an effect β itβs science,β he added. βAnd I defer to scientists before politicians, who are very skilled at making arguments to benefit the people that they serve, but they are not doing science every day. So I defer to scientists.β
Frantiβs Love Out Loud Tour kinda spins off that theme of speaking out passionately about βthe world we want to achieve and loving out loud in the spaceβ of our communities, families and neighborhoods.
βThereβs so much division that we see on the news everyday, but truthfully when Iβm in an elevator with a stranger, or when Iβm walking down the street or Iβm in an airport, weβre a lot meaner to each other online than we are face-to-face,β Franti said. βAnd I take comfort in that. I make music to try to have powerful, positive moments when people can come together and reaffirm that.β
He also takes comfort in his yoga meetups, which create for him a true sense of community.
βItβs a chance for me to get to know people face-to-face,β he said. βItβs been a really fun way to get to know people and share whatβs on peopleβs minds.β
