The National & Bob Weir Team Up For Charity Webcast

Article Contributed by HeadCount | Published on Monday, February 27, 2012

Bob Weir will perform with members of The National in “The Bridge Session,” a free webcast originating from Weir’s TRI Studios on March 24th.The event is produced by HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes voter registration and democratic participation. Weir, a former member of The Grateful Dead, serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.Mixing different musical genres, political discussion and a showcase of modern technology, the event aims to “bridge the gaps” between people of various tastes and viewpoints. The name of the event also references TRI Studios’ location 15 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and The National’s home base of Brooklyn and its equally famous bridge.The National’s Scott and Bryan Devendorf (bass and drums, respectively) assembled a band from within Brooklyn’s independent music scene for this one-time-only performance. Their setlist will include original songs by The Grateful Dead and The National, as well as cover songs with subtle, and not-so-subtle, political messages.Between sets, a roundtable discussion will focus on issues that potentially unify people of divergent ideological perspectives - specifically, getting money out of politics and protecting the First Amendment. Grateful Dead lyricist and activist John Perry Barlow, one of the first public figures to bring attention to the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA), will be among the panelists. Fans watching The Bridge Session at home will be able to ask questions to Weir, Barlow and other special guests via Twitter.The performance and discussion will take place in front of an intimate studio audience of benefactors and select media. HeadCount is also giving away two tickets to attend in person via an online contest. For more information on how to enter or acquire tickets please visit www.HeadCount.org.HeadCount founder Marc Brownstein, a member of the electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits and a Brooklyn native, will serve as emcee. The band will include Brooklyn-based musicians Josh Kaufman, Thomas Bartlett, Kyle Resnick, Walt Martin, Conrad Doucette and Samuel Cohen.###About HeadCount:HeadCount is a grassroots organization that uses the power of music to register voters and raise social consciousnessn. Since 2004 we’ve staged voter registration drives at over 2,000 concerts and signed up over 175,000 voters. We reach young music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. Our message is about about what party you support or where you land on an issue. It’s that you must speak to be heard.About TRI Studios:Tamalpais Research Institute is the vision of Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Weir and his team have built a state-of-the-art performance studio for broadcasting live HD video and audio streams directly to the Internet. Each show will be directed, filmed, and mixed live in real time. Every care will be taken to provide the highest possible upstream bandwidth to transmit high quality HD video and audio to the end user. All of this will take place in a small intimate setting in front of a live studio audience. The musicians may be playing in the domain of Mount Tamalpais, but their music will be beaming out to the entire free world.