Represent! LIVE EARTH – this Sat 07.07.07.

Live Earth It’s all happening this special day 7 of the 7th of 07 – here’s the final line-up – even Naomi is in the house… We want to know who’s going to Live Earth and who you’re excited to see – please write a comment at the bottom of the post.  Joss as a headline with our faves UB40 and Zola, plus superb talent of Angelique Kidjo and Vusi Mahlasela and all the others – it all adds up to be a proudly SA and Africa gig – 24 hours, 2 billion viewers – wow. It gets a big thumbs up.  We hope the people… Represent!

JOSS STONE, UB40, ANGELIQUE KIDJO, BAABA MAAL, SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR, DANNY K, THE PARLOTONES,VUSI MAHLASELA & ZOLA LINE UP FOR LIVE EARTH SOUTH AFRICA.

R371.00: Retractable Blocks A to J and ZA to ZB raised seating
R346.00: Golden Circle Standing,
R269.00: Retractable Blocks K to Z raised seating
R269.00: Floor Standing, Disabled Platform
R191.00: Mezzanine raised seating

Tickets Available at www.computicket.com

Live Earth SA, now staged at the Coca-Cola Dome, is part of the 24 Hour, 7 Continent Concert Series to Combat Global Warming which begins in Sydney on July 7 2007, and continues across 7 continents with events in Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, and Rio de Janeiro, before concluding in New York. The concerts will be broadcast to over 2 Billion people world-wide.

The Johannesburg leg of the series will feature British soul, R&B, and blues singer, songwriter, JOSS STONE. Joss has sold over nine million albums worldwide, with her electrifying mix of vintage soul, ’70s-style R&B, Motown harmonies and jazzy grooves, and won numerous awards, including 2 Brits and a Grammy. She also holds the record for the youngest female to top the UK Chart, and the highest debut for a British solo female on the U.S charts. Along with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and U2 lead singer Bono, Joss joined Band Aid 20 in 2004, to benefit Darfur, and also performed at 2005’s Live 8 concert in London.

Fellow Brits UB40 will also be performing. Their combined single and album sales exceed 70 million, featuring 51 hit singles, and they’ve had No.1 hits in almost every known chart. The group has won the highly prestigious Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement, joined other music greats for a historic performance at LIVE 8, and were nominated for Best Reggae Album at last year’s Grammy Awards. The eight self-taught musicians have combined musical excellence with social conscience in a way that remains unrivalled in this or any other era.

Beninese four-time Grammy-nominated, singer, composer, and performer ANGELIQUE KIDJO will be one of Africa’s representatives. Angelique is renowned for her diverse musical influences, eleven albums, and host of awards, including a Mobo, a Kora, and a Danish Music Award. Her music is steeped in the tribal and pop rhythms of West Africa, but she has also crossed musical and national boundaries by blending a variety of styles, including funk, salsa, jazz, rumba, souk and makossa.

Senegalese master musician BAABA MAAL will also take the stage representing Africa, with his magical compositions ranging from the purest traditional sounds to exciting, innovative fusion of traditional music with elements of pop and reggae. Baaba’s albums have earned critical acclaim world-wide and the overwhelming universal response to his phenomenal stage show is utter awe! He has had a series of highly successful albums, and tours the world not only as a great performer, but a United Nations representative as well. 

On the local front, the SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR will perform their inspirational African and international gospel, contemporary classics and music by the likes of legendary Otis Redding. Their shows are a fusion of rich harmonies, a 4-piece band, a percussion section, energetic dancing and vibrant costumes. The award-winning, 52-strong sensation has won two American Gospel Music Awards, a SAMA Award, a Grammy Award, and the No.1 spot on Billboard’s World Music Chart. They performed at Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Concert, and gave proceeds from the track they recorded with rock legend Robert Plant, to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

One of South Africas most versatile and accomplished artists, DANNY K will also take to the stage, adding his voice to the message. SAMA Award winning Danny has released award winning albums, performed with some of the biggest musicians in the world and topped the SA charts. His groundbreaking collaboration with Mandoza, “Same Difference”, and newly released third album, have added to the string of Top 10 singles, which saw him become the first SA musician to perform on the Oprah Winfrey show. He’s also an ambassador for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Campaign. 

THE PARLOTONES’ live performance promises to sweep the audience up in a whirlwind of energy and rock. The band merges innovative and authentic ideas into a comprehensive sound that have garnered them numerous accolades. The band’s single ‘Beautiful’ featured in a European Fuji Film advert, and the single ‘Overexposed’ was play listed on one of Germany’s biggest radio stations, and they are listed on MTV Europe’s ‘hot list of opportunities’. The Parlotones’ debut album, Radiocontrolledrobot, featured five Top 20 singles, and won a SAMA for “Best Rock Album”.

Having played at the Tribute to Princess Diana Concert and LIVE 8 in London, South African singer-songwriter VUSI MAHLASELA joins another vital cause. His sound is a hybrid of folk, world, blues and soul, and he’s also an accomplished guitarist, percussionist, composer and performer. The SAMA Award winner has toured, and draws inspiration from all over the world, yet doesn’t lose touch with his deep-rooted traditional South African sounds. Vusi performed at Nelson Mandela’s Presidential Inauguration and is an ambassador to his 46664 Campaign.

The multi-talented poet, actor, and musician ZOLA will bring the unique sound of Kwaito to the awesome line-up. He has sold almost half a million records across his four albums, with his debut album “Umdlwembe”, reaching Triple Platinum status. Zola has walked away with 5 SAMA Awards, 7 MetroFM Awards, 2 Duku Duku Awards, a Kora Award and an Oscar for the winning film, Tsotsi. Other film credits include Drum, the TV drama Yizo Yizo, and his own show, Zola 7. He is listed No.21 on the Greatest South Africans List, a United Nations Ambassador and member of humanitarian groups including UNICEF and OXFAM.

Apart from the abundance of musical talent featured on the South African line-up, Live Earth will bring together more than 150 of the world’s top music acts to inspire the audience of over two billion people, to trigger a mass movement to combat global warming. “Live Earth is taking place across all seven continents because the climate crisis affects us all – and all of us must be a part of the solution,” said Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore.

Supermodel, actress, singer and author Naomi Campbell, who will be speaking from the stage at the Johannesburg concert, commented “I’m proud to be a part of Live Earth and I’m especially proud that we are joining forces here in South Africa”. “Live Earth Johannesburg will not only unify Africans on this issue, it will connect the crisis here with the rest of the world.”

The Live Earth Concerts for a Climate in Crisis will be hosting the African leg at Maropeng, the visitor centre to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The site symbolizes the start of the human journey. If we understand where we have come from we may better understand where we are now and where we are going to. The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site enables us to contemplate the impact of the human footprint on the planet.  We choose our future by what we do today.

Live Earth is partnering with companies who share the commitment to helping people live a more energy efficient lifestyle. smart is the world’s only automaker serving as an Official Partner. Unlike any other vehicle, the new smart fortwo combines a modern, individual lifestyle with environmental protection by offering the lowest CO2 emission of any vehicle on the market.

Philips, as the world’s leading lighting supplier, also joins Live Earth as an Official Partner. Philips was the first to introduce the energy saving light bulb in 1980 and has put environmental product improvement at the heart of its business, increasing its green product range year by year.

Coca-Cola is committed to bringing music experiences to its consumers. Music as a key connection platform allows Coca-Cola the opportunity to give key causes a voice. As the brand is for everyone and the survival of the planet is critical to everyone, Coca-Cola is proud to be the Local Beverage Partner of this event. 

The exclusive online media partner MSN will be streaming the concert live on 7/7/07 at http://liveearth.za.msn.com

The Live Earth concert at Maropeng is produced by BIG Concerts, South Africa’s premier live music promoters.

For more information, visit www.liveearth.msn.com  and www.liveearth.org 

Tickets available from Computicket online: http://www.computicket.com, 083 915 8000, or any outlet country wide. Tickets cost R250, which includes all service fees.

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It’s two months tomorrow since we heard about Live Earth.  Just over one month till it happens.  We’ve heard about the US shows featuring huge global acts like The Police, Roger Waters, Smashing Pumpkins, Kanye West, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, Akon, KT Tunstall, Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews Band, Rihanna and Fall Out Boy. And then we hear that the UK is getting the Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Bloc Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Damien Rice, David Gray, Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, Genesis, James Blunt, John Legend, Keane, Madonna, Paolo Nutini, Razorlight, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snow Patrol at the Wembley Stadium concert.

We also know that Snoop is playing at the Germany concert and today Japan announced their line-up of loads of local acts plus Linkin’ Park and Rihanna… they’re both two of the hottest acts out there right now- so they bring huge cred to Japan’s line-up. Mosdef.

Australia is a little more low-key as well, with international acts Jack Johnson and Crowded House head-lining… we’re wondering if they have more to announce.

But little has been said about Brazil, China, Istanbul and South Africa… *mhhmm* and we wonder who will be performing at these Live Earth concerts. 

So the question must be asked – who is coming to play at the “CRADLE OF HUMANKIND” in “AAaaaafrica”.  Is this going to be another one of those lame shows where we pick up the dregs of international artists and remember as you’re standing listening to unknown bland old foreign geezers blowing their own horns that our own artists kick enough touche and we’d rather be watching them?  I don’t mean to be cynical.  But the question has to be asked – coz looking at those line-ups, there ain’t many big names left 🙂 Any guesses as to who will grace our shores?

With just over a month to go, we understand organising a 7 continent concert must be a nightmare and we wish the organisers all the best of luck…  Please just make sure Africa is not an after thought.  We await the announcements.

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If you’re an eco-warrior or just an everyday person who’d like to get more involved in making our world a better place, make sure to bookmark the 7/7/7 – that’s the 7th of July 2007.  It’s another world-wide concert, this time in the name of GLOBAL WARMING.  Spearheaded by AL GORE who is putting his money where his mouth is, Live Earth looks to be massive, taking place over all 7 continents with over 100 musicians featured.  Johannesburg is one of the main host cities

along with Sydney, Shangai, Rio, Kyoto, London and others… Big musical names are getting behind the initiative including SNOOP, the FOO FIGHTERS, BLACK EYED PEAS, PHARRELL, KEANE, CORINNE BAILEY RAE, BLOC PARTY, CHILLI PEPPERS, FALL OUT BOY and LENNY KRAVITZ – let’s hope this time we don’t get left with the loser bands and that we get muso’s that South African’s have actually heard of.  Check out the South African (non official) site here and the official site here.  There is no official announcement around where, who or how much, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.  Remember to always Represent!

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