Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Michael Franti and his band Spearhead are set to release their new album, Stay Human Vol. II, via Thirty Tigers on January 25. In celebration of the upcoming record, Franti is now premiering the track "Nobody Cries Alone;" listen/share the song via Spotify here!
Billboard previously premiered the video for the lead single "Just To Say I Love You" athttps://bit.ly/2QujiNb. Pre-orders of the album come with instant downloads of the album tracks "Just To Say I Love You," "Stay Human 2," "Flower In The Gun" (feat. Victoria Canal) and "Nobody Cries Alone" and are available hereere!
The writing on Stay Human Vol. II-which is co-produced by Franti alongside Ben Simonetti(Zac Brown Band, Shemekia Copeland, Blake Shelton), Niko Moon (Zac Brown Band), Kevin Bard (Fitz & The Tantrums) and others-was heavily influenced by Franti's work on his new award-winning self-directed documentary, Stay Human. He explains, "I've traveled the globe making music and throughout the years I've always hoped that it could inspire small steps towards making the world a better place. Struggling with the challenges of the world I began filming my new documentary, Stay Human, telling the stories of heroic everyday people who helped me to discover more deeply what it means to be and STAY HUMAN."
Stay Human has won an array of awards while on the festival circuit, including the RWJ Barnabas Health Award at the 2018 Asbury Park Music & Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2018 Nashville Film Festival, the Audience Award and the Voice for Humanity Award at the 2018 ILLUMINATE Film Festival and the Soul in Cinema Award at the 2018 Maui Film Festival.
Franti recently made a series of special intimate appearances throughout the western U.S. at screenings of Stay Human, with each screening featuring an introduction by and Q&A with Franti as well as an acoustic performance by Franti accompanied by Carl Young (bass, vocals) and Victoria Canal (keys, vocals). Additional spring/summer screenings and tour dates are forthcoming, details to be announced shortly. Watch/share the trailer for Stay Human at https://youtu.be/NaQu7n4NA6s.
Franti began writing music as a way to process both the political landscape of the late 1980s and the unique sounds and ideas of his Bay Area upbringing. In 1994, Franti formed Michael Franti & Spearhead. Touring with his band, Franti continued to notice inequality and injustice both at home and abroad. The band released their seminal Stay Human album in 2000, reflecting on the unjust nature of the death penalty among other themes, to make sense of our common humanity in juxtaposition to near constant violations of human rights.
Franti released his first self-directed documentary, I Know I'm Not Alone, in 2005 to widespread critical acclaim. The film depicts his mission for peace in the Middle East, with a focus on the human cost of war. Franti visited war zones in Iraq, Israel and Palestine again finding common connection, playing music to both soldiers and civilians regardless of affiliation.
Michael Franti & Spearhead continue to foster the community both on and off stage and with Michael and his wife Sara's foundation Do It For The Love, a wish granting nonprofit that brings those with life threatening illnesses, veterans and children with severe challenges to concerts. His recent musical projects have included the Billboard #1 single "The Sound of Sunshine" (2010) and full-length releases All the People (2013) and SOULROCKER (2016), which topped the Billboard rock album charts at #4 and #5, respectively.
STAY HUMAN VOL. II
1. Little Things 2. Just To Say I Love You 3. Flower In The Gun (feat. Victoria Canal) 4. Only Thing Missing Was You 2 (feat. HIRIE) 5. Stay Human 2 6. Summertime Won't Last Long 7. This World Is So F*cked Up (But I Ain't Ever Giving Up On It) 8. You're Number One 9. Enjoy Every Second (feat. AGodess) 10. Nobody Cries Alone 11. Extraordinary 12. When The Sun Begins To Shine 13. Show Me Your Peace Sign 14. Take Me Alive
