Long revered for his inspiring music, worldwide philanthropic efforts and the power of optimism, Michael Franti continues to offer opportunities for gratitude, solidarity and celebrating how we get through the greatest ups and downs of our lives with our body, mind and soul still in one piece with upcoming album Follow Your Heart, set for release June 3rd via Thirty Tigers. Pre-order/pre-save the album HERE.
"One thing I learned these last couple of years is that people need people," shares Franti. "I wrote many songs about connection, resilience and finding the light, even in the midst of all the crazy. Somewhere in there we find resilience, and I hope Follow Your Heart gives fans the courage to continue looking for and holding onto that perseverance."
On Friday (22nd), Franti released the title track 'Follow Your Heart', debuting the acoustic premiere via Instagram Live from his boutique retreat hotel Soulshine Bali in Ubud, sharing, "I wrote this with a guy named Greg Hvnsen who is an incredible writer and producer, and the song is about how following your heart during the pandemic seemed to be the answer to every question.
"The answer to so many questions was to listen to what my heart was saying, even though I couldn't do a lot of the things I enjoy because we had to be isolated," Franti elaborated. "We couldn't travel, tour or make music the way we did before, but there were still a lot of things in my life that needed to be taken care of: relationships, health, this business as an entrepreneur (Soulshine Bali), and 'follow your heart' became the answer to so many questions for me."
Opening with upbeat, rhythmic palm-muted acoustic strumming, 'Follow Your Heart' encourages listeners to trust their intuition, follow their dreams and seek out their deepest desires, all while keeping hope alive:
We are, we are the dreamers We are, we are believers And I know you feel it in your soul
Anywhere you go Anywhere you are It's as real as it gets As real as you are
Anywhere you go No matter how far It's as real as it gets It's real when you follow your heart
Follow your heart like a stream to the ocean And put your dreams in motion And when you fall down Pick yourself up with your heart wide open, open
Friday's release follows 'Brighter Day', an anthemic call to endure life's hardships, and 'Good Day For A Good Day', which marked the band's 10th Top 25 AAA hit.
Work Hard And Be Nice was released in 2020, which included lead single 'I Got You', the Franti & Spearhead's first Billboard No. 1 in nearly 10 years, and was also featured on NPR's mid-year and end-year 'Heavy Rotation: Public Radio's Most Popular Songs of 2020', sharing, "Michael Franti's infectious groove is unmistakable. From the opening chords to the percolating rhythm, it's easy to get caught up in the positivity he exudes."
Michael Franti & Spearhead will be kicking off the Follow Your Heart UK tour in February 2023. They will play St. Luke's Music & Arts Venue, Glasgow (Feb 7th), Manchester Academy 2 (Feb 8th) and London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (Feb 10th). Tickets are on sale now at MichaelFranti.com, with the option to also upgrade to VIP for the dates.
Follow Your Heart Better Baby Let Your Soulshine Brighter Day Life Is Amazing No Makeup Good Day For A Good Day Best At Loving You People Need People Trying To Keep The Lights On Life Reminds Us We're Alive
