HeadCount and Activism in Live Music Community
WEIR, ANASTASIO, FLECK AMONG A DOZEN MUSICIANS WHO APPEAR
Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Bela Fleck and many other musicians will appear in a soon-to-be released documentary entitled A Call to Action, chronicling how the HeadCount organization has brought political action to the live music community. A five-minute preview of the documentary, featuring interviews with those and other artists can be seen on www.headcount.org.
A Call to Action was produced by Concerts4Charity, a fellow nonprofit devoted to promoting philanthropy through music and the arts. Most of A Call to Action was filmed on location at the Langerado Music Festival last March, in the political hotbed of Broward County, Florida. Artists were asked to reflect on their support for the HeadCount organization and the role music can play in shaping American politics. Michael Franti, jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood, members of O.A.R., Galactic and the North Mississippi Allstars also appear in the documentary. HeadCount co-chair Marc Brownstein of the Disco Biscuits and HeadCount board member Al Schnier of moe. were also interviewed, and appear in the preview.
"The thing about HeadCount that always humbles me is the support we get from other artists and the whole music industry," said Brownstein. "This documentary is another example of that. Pretty much everyone playing at Langerado sat down in front of the camera and spoke from the heart." Concerts4Charity, based in Worcester, Mass., approached HeadCount with the idea of filming a documentary last Fall, after producing a short video feature on HeadCount's 2006 "Midterms Matter Tour." "It has been my personal mission over the past decade to document artist-related community outreach," noted A Call to Action producer Christopher Gaspar. "HeadCount shares such a tremendous bond with the artists and the fans. My goal, and the goal of Concerts4Charity, is to bring another dimension to that by telling their story."
Since its inception in 2004, HeadCount has registered more than 60,000 voters – a rewarding challenge for a core group of volunteers, which has in turn provided a voice for many. 2008 will mark the first full election cycle since the non-partisan, not-for-profit organization was launched and, for scores of volunteers, this milestone has truly been... A Call to Action.
The full-length documentary will be released for Internet download in late 2007, and on DVD in 2008.
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