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LIVE: Concert For Social Justice, Hollywood, CA
“Speak Power To Truth” was the mantra this past Wednesday night, April 8th at the Concert For Social Justice held in Hollywood’s Fonda Theater. The Grammy Museum and the Robert F. Kennedy Center For Human Rights teamed up for the fund raiser that brought in a packed house eager to hear some Rock & Roll with a message. Headliners included Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees Jackson Browne and CSNY’s David Crosby and Graham Nash.
The night began with Ghanaian Reggae singer Rocky Dawuni followed by LA’s own La Santa Cecilia, Grammy winners for Best Latin Rock Album 2014. One of the night’s most memorable moments was when the group covered The Beatles “Strawberry Fields” with a Latin bi-lingual twist. Dedicated to farm laborers, the psychedelic classic took on an entirely new context, blowing away the crowd who may not have known them prior to this show.
Between acts the theme of the night was expressed through the testimonies of international leaders who “Speak Power To Truth” throughout the world. The stories of many including young Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, were eloquently orated by actors Martin Sheen, Alfre Woodard, David Arquette, Chad Lowe, Billy Ray Cyrus and Dennis Haysbert, owner of possibly the most famous voice in Hollywood. Each story touched on powerful issues of human rights.
The first headliner to hit the stage was Tom Morello, a guitar legend best known for Rage Against The Machine and Audio Slave. This night he sang 3 solo songs, introducing himself as a front man to many who have only seen him shred for the past 20+ years. Giving the crowd what they wanted he hit 2 strong solos, one of which he went full Hendrix, picking the strings with his teeth while revealing an “I Can’t Breathe” sign on the back of his guitar, a tribute to the current police reform and Black Lives Matter movements.
Crosby And Nash were preceded by a performance by Rock queen Melissa Etheridge. This allowed for an anecdotal introduction that told the story of how Crosby became her children’s “Bio-Dad”, humorously quipping that at first her and her partner had seriously considered calling Jackson Browne to take on the task. Jokes aside, the platform allowed Etheridge the opportunity to speak personally about gay rights and the current marijuana legalization movement. Throughout the Vietnam Era, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young inspired a young generation to be politically minded and socially responsible. What better concert for them to be at as they played a few timely classics including “Chicago” and “Teach Your Children”.
The hosts for the night launched the Speak Up, Sing Out contest encouraging middle and high school students to write songs about social justice issues they feel strongly about. Before Jackson Browne took the stage the winner of this year's inaugural contest, Jade Rhodes of Los Angeles, took to the piano and sang her song “Invisible” about a Darfur war refugee. With an amazing voice and poignant beyond her years lyrics, Jade was one of the highlights of the night. 70’s icon Browne followed to end the night before inviting all the musicians and actors on stage for a group performance of Woody Guthrie’s folk anthem “This Land Is Your Land”. Morello called it, “America’s second national anthem” before getting the crowd to all join in on the chorus and jump up and down, because after all the inspiring stories it’s still a Rock show.
- Dominic Painter
