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Headline: Hope for the homeless to take center stage at Freeborn concert
Layercake: ‘”Keep Hope Alive,‘” hosted by health and homeless organizations, will feature three local bands
By MICHELLE RUAN
Aggie Arts Writer
If your plan on Sunday morning was to wake up late and start playing Iinternet RPG games, surprise! You may have something more 3D to do. Popular artists Zion I, Seamoose, and SOJA will headline a concert, which aims to raise awareness about local homeless organizations, which is sponsored by Davis Homeless Outreach Through Prevention and Education (H.O.P.E.O.P.E.).
The concert will take place at Freeborn Hall at 2 p.m. and doors open at 1 p.m. Student tickets are selling for $19 and general tickets are $24.
Davis H.O.P.E is an organization that works with the local Davis homeless shelters. They provide educational services to the homeless in hopes that once educated, they won’t ever have to return to the streets.
“Keep Hope Alive” will feature three prominent artists, each representing a different music genre: Seamoose, Zion I, and SOJA.
Seamoose is a local funk band that often plays shows at Burgers and Brew. It is a favorite with localamong local UC Davis students.
“One of the gifts of playing music is the ability to use music to help others. We appreciate the chance to share our music and help out a great cause at the same time,” Seamoose said in a statement.
Zion I is a hip hop duo consisting of DJ AmpLive and MC Zumbi, who promote social change through their lyrics. They are an underground group that came to prominence with DJ AmpLive’s complex production skills and MC Zumbi’s substance-filled lyrical content, which promotes social change for the future.
“It is a blessing to be able to give back to folks who really need the help right now. Our music has always been about the triumph of the human spirit,” Zumbi said. “We have moved on into focusing our energy on giving directly back to the community by rocking this show. It feels good to know that lives will be improved, and that we are part of that process.”
SOJA is an international rReggae band based in Washington, D.C. that has performed in numerous places such as Puerto Rico, Brazil, and even Holland.
“SOJA is very honored to be a part of The Hope Project Benefit event at UC Davis. The world is in a tough place right now and every possible path that leads to the rise of education is an important one. We do it through our music and are glad to share and ‘co-learn’ with the fans and students at UC Davis,” SOJA said in a statement.
And if these great artists aren’t already getting your musical palate salivating, Professor Charles BamworthBamforth, acclaimed brewer and a favorite teacher among Davis students, will be MC-emcee-ing the entire event.
Bamforth said he is offering his help to this unique concert because he believes strongly in helping the homeless.
“The cause is an amazingly important one. There are so many people out there with no home – more than 2,700 in this immediate region alone,” Bamforth said. “They live moment– by –moment with the reality of terrible risks. We need to do whatever we can to help and support them.”
Nikhil Borra, a fifth-5th yearsenior neurology, physiology and biology major is the President president of H.O.P.E and was a major factor in getting all three artists to perform together at the upcoming concert.
“We put together different bands because everybody has different music tastes. We want this to appeal to lots of students. But we also chose socially conscious artists who have a reputation for promoting change, such as Zion I, which sends messages about how we should all look out for each other,” Borra said. “We asked Professor. Bamforth to MC emcee the event because he’s popular with students and [he] believes in the cause. Homelessness is a big problem and it’d be great if we give as much attention that we’re giving to starving children in Africa also to the starving children possibly living down the block from us.”
Borra added that Dr. Sheila Kar of the nonprofit Sheila Kar Health Foundation was also a driving force in the organization of the concert.
Borra emphasized that the goal of the concert is not to make a profit but rather to alert the UC Davis student and academic community about H.O.P.E’s existence and itstheir message of helping the homeless through education.
“Everybody should come and enjoy the show. There are going to be really good live performances. And if you happen to want to donate more than your ticket price, please donate to the Sheila Kar foundation,” Borra said.
Kar said she is making a special trip up to Davis to see the show.
“I cannot miss this! I love music,” Kar said. “The bands chosen believe in helping others. Reggae has no color boundaries and Zion I’s lyrics are so full of peace. I hope the kids will spread the message. My hope is that there will be a H.O.P.E program on every college campus.”
But aAbove all, Karr stressed that the concert is meant to let all the students have fun and has a special message for all the concert attendees.
“By giving, you will give life,” she said.
Tickets can be bought at the Freeborn Hall ticket box. Doors will open at 1 p.m. and the concert will start at 2 p.m. To learn more about the organization or volunteer, go to davishope.com.
MICHELLE RUAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
