UNITY: The Desmond Tutu Legacy Project

Article Contributed by SRO | Published on Wednesday, September 21, 2016

For many years, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has preached a message of "Ubuntu: what affects one of us, affects us all". On Friday, October 7,2016 at The Saban Theatre in Los Angeles, an all-star group of artists will unite for the first UNITY Mini-Big Show in support of UNITY: The Desmond Tutu Legacy Project (www.unity4tutu.com) to put this philosophy into practice with a concert in tribute to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Hosted by Archbishop Tutu's grandson Xabiso Tutu-Gxasho, the evening will feature music from Incubus (in a special acoustic performance), Steve Vai, Fishbone, Pato Banton, members of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Spencer Davis and Donovan, who will be accompanied by Lili HaydenKimo the Blaxican has joined the show as MC and Adam Gaynor as a presenter, with iconic American poet Stephen Kalinich will recite inspirational new works, with additional guests TBA. It will be held on Archbishop Tutu's 85th birthday and coincides with a series of events attended by the Archbishop in Cape Town, South Africa. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.

The Los Angeles show kicks off the Mini-Big Benefit concert series for UNITY: The Desmond Tutu Legacy Project, a global effort spearheaded by the Archbishop and his daughter Mpho Tutu to ensure his work for peace, justice and equality continues for generations to come.  Each Mini-Big show is an intimate performance of notable artists taking place in a theatre as opposed to a stadium, designed to reach the largest audience possible worldwide via live stream in partnership with Facebook, with audio simulcasts on terrestrial radio in each market. Additional Mini-Big Shows will be held throughout 2016-7 including New York, December 2016, Miami, March 2017, Atlanta, April 2017 and Toronto, spring 2017, with more cities to be announced.

Each Mini-Big concert will be filmed for inclusion in an exclusive retrospective documentary on Archbishop Tutu's life story, which will trace the evolution of his extraordinary legacy. The documentary will feature rare archival footage and interviews with iconic personalities including Annie Lennox, Bono, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Steve Tyler, Alfre Woodard, Sean Paul, Johnny Clegg and others who have been inspired by his work. Quincy Jones will serve as Executive Producer of an all-star soundtrack to complement the film.

Quincy Jones said, "I am thrilled to be working on UNITY, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Documentary and Soundtrack. Archbishop Tutu is a long time brother and friend of mine and I am excited to ensure that his legacy is carried on for future generations."

"We have songs that are political," adds Tim Burton of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones who are thrilled to get behind the cause.  "They sound like goofy ska punk songs a lot of the time but they are about racism. They are about unity and justice."

Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $60 to $105.

Now through September 23, fans 18+ have the opportunity to win a special package to the UNITY Mini-Big show including roundtrip travel for two to Los Angeles, hotel accommodation, premium tickets to the show and more.  More information can be found here: https://www.propeller.la/unityla

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