On Sunday night, October 7th, Jim James partnered with HeadCount for the first of six stops on their political participation-minded “The Future Is Voting Tour” at Emo’s in Austin, TX.
The purpose of the evening and tour, as described by HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein to kick off the festivities, was to create an experience that would leave music fans better informed and inspired to vote on November 6th.
The event’s roughly 750 attendees, many fresh of a sweltering day at Austin City Limits Music Festival, were treated to an evening of rousing music and political conversation. The unique event featured performances by Jim James and Kam Franklin of The Suffers as well as appearances by seven different political candidates including sitting Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who is seeking re-election this year.
Jim James performed a 45-minute solo set featuring many of his most politically-charged songs including “Over and Over“, which appeared on his 2018 album UNIFORM DISTORTION as well as its stripped-down companion piece, UNIFORM CLARITY. Ahead of James’ set, the My Morning Jacket frontman gave a brief talk about the power of finding common ground with people of opposing viewpoints.
“I don’t know about you,” James began, “but I want to see a return to love…There is so much hatred going on in the world. I feel like it is all of our job to somehow bring respect back to the dialogue, bring peace back to the dialogue.” You can watch footage of Jim James’ speech below:
Jim James On The Power Of Finding Common Ground
[Video: HeadCount]
Emcee Linqua Franqa, a PhD. student and elected member of the city council in Athens, GA, followed that theme with an uplifting mix of hip-hop and direct addresses to the audience. The crowd then heard from incumbent Austin mayoral candidate Steve Adler, who spoke about the importance of keeping Austin’s nightlife vital and housing affordable, a theme repeated by the two other Mayoral candidates who followed.
The next music performance featured Kam Franklin of The Suffers, a popular performer in Austin and all of Texas. Her soulful 30-minute set included talk about cannabis legalization and the importance of voting, as well as a cover of a Korn track. The speaker schedule finished with appearances by Kyle Austin, a Republican challenger to the incumbent Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett in the state’s 35th Congressional district, as well as Libertarian challenger Clark Patterson. Promoter C3 Presents and local organization Music Moves Austin were instrumental in bringing many of the candidates out to the event. Finally, Made of Oak (Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso) closed out the evening with a DJ Set.
In all, HeadCount registered over 800 voters in Texas over the course of the weekend at their “The Future Is Voting Tour” stop and various other events, including Austin City Limits and two Odesza shows. The deadline to register to vote in the state of Texas is Tuesday, October 9th. Anyone wishing to register to vote online can visit HeadCount.org for more information.
Below, you can view some photos of the opening stop on “The Future Is Voting Tour” below via HeadCount and check out a list of upcoming dates on the tour. For more information on how to donate to the cause or earn admission into the upcoming tour stops, head here.
The post Jim James & HeadCount Bring An Evening Of Music & Political Discussion To Austin [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
