I had never been to a Michael Franti show until last night.. wow! I love his music, his vibe & his call to action for us to lift each other up.
Franti kept jumping into the crowd at the Ogden Theatre & his fans would sing right along side him.
At one point, he came up right by me and approached a woman who was standing behind me all night, for the most part by herself. She was a fan. She sweetly sang every word of every song, while holding a sign for Franti’s “Do It for the Love” foundation. Franti serenaded her. At this point, she stopped singing & deeply listened to what he was saying. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. He nodded at her and kept moving, and singing. She was thrilled and humbled and I shared the picture my husband captured of that moment with her.
I’m sharing this picture here.. because it sums up the night… a night of coming together, to help one another and to build each other up.
The 3rd Annual “Sing It To Me Santa” concert benefits the Denver Public Schools Foundation. Local musician, community leader and my friend Libby Anschutz put this together every year. She included in the line up an all girl band from Denver School of the Arts, CDC.. who for being 14, had incredible and cheerful stage presence. Denver favorite Isaac Slade of the Fray also sang. And of course, Libby’s band, Tracksuit Wedding really rocked out with a huge band for about an hour.
Franti played for an hour to the crowd, explaining why he wanted to be a part of Sing It To Me Santa. His parents were public school teachers. He attended public schools and he admitted it was tough for him. That’s why.. he wanted to do what he could for the large and diverse DPS student body and all of its dedicated teachers.
He told everybody in the crowd to “give back to the community, give back to the country and give back to the world.”
He closed by saying “don’t forget to rock out wherever you are. That means, never lose your enthusiasm.. like the enthusiasm you have in this room tonight. Thank you for bringing your best. Thank you for serving the greater good. Thank you for helping Denver Public Schools…. and, thank you for rocking out wherever you are.”
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