Emerge, where social impact and music intersect, is announcing several headliners for its unique showcases May 31 and June 1st at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas (emergelv.com).
“Emerge highlights how music and social action inform and support each other,” says festival founder Rehan Choudhry. “Our artists and speakers all share a passion for social movements and have cultivated a very personal point of view on what’s happening today. Their music and words express this perspective.”
Emerge’s outspoken headliners include:
Brandon Flowers, whose set will include a compelling performance of the band’s passionately critical “The Land of the Free,” complete with full choir at the Protest showcase. Flowers will be joined by Talib Kweli, Ana Tijoux, Nahko, and Tank and the Bangas, as well as speakers from March for our Lives like David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez.
Gerard Way, who will explore My Chemical Romance’s seminal albums.
Whitney Bell, a fearless voice from the feminist activist movement who dedicates much of her work to lifting up women’s stories. Bell will act as curator for the Saturday afternoon showcase featuring an all-female speakers and performers.
“We’ve focused on emerging voices and have foregrounded them as we’ve unveiled our programming for the festival. Now we want to give the amazing established artists their due and provide a platform that lets them amplify their message in new, creative ways,” explains Choudhry.
In the history of modern protest movements, the message has been in the music, while the music shapes the message. “Protests and movements are filled with the same intensity and energy that music festivals once had, that power to galvanize people and encourage them to change their lives and communities,” Choudhry notes. “Our speakers and performers share stages, in a deliberate push to give this combined energy room to grow.”
Kicking off the festival, HopeXHuman combines four high-energy performers, a spoken word poet-turned-MC as host, and a bevy of exquisite craft cocktails based on some of the world’s most exciting emerging spirits.
For this event, Emerge is collaborating with Human Rights Campaign – Las Vegas; Musicians on Call; Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights; Communities in Schools (NV chapter); World Wildlife Foundation; Fuck Cancer; Proclaim Justice; Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada; Define America; and the Music Forward Foundation.
—
Photo Credit: Christian Bernand / Shutterstock.com
