Credit: Ed MilesLed Zeppelin singer Robert Plant has announced that he will take part in the upcoming Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour, an 11-city U.S. fall trek that will help raise awareness about the worldwide refugee crisis. Plant will appear at the final seven shows of the tour, which kicks off October 6 in Boulder, Colorado, and runs through an October 21 performance in Washington, D.C.
Performing at all of the Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees shows will be Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller and The Milk Carton Kids. Griffin and Miller collaborated with Plant on his 2010 solo album Band of Joy, and also toured with him in support of that record.
In a message on his official website, Plant explains that he decided to take a break from recording a new album with his current group The Sensational Space Shifters “to be a part of this very important and worthwhile cause.”
He adds, “When I watch the news and see people from these places being displaced by hatred and ignorance, I know that these people are just like you and me. All they want is to live in peace and have their children grow up loved, fed and educated…I hope that my voice, along with my friends, helps bend the arc of the universe a little more toward the loving and helps with the work of getting the basic essentials of life to those who are without.”
The rock legend also points out that he only be singing two or three songs at each of the concerts at which he appears.
The Lampedusa: Concert for Refugees tour is named after an Italian island that serves as a waypoint for refugees seeking asylum in Europe. Visit JRSUSA.org for more information.
Here is the full list of dates for the trek:
10/6 — Boulder, CO, Boulder Theater
10/8 — Kansas City, MO, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
10/9 — Lincoln, NE, Rococo Theater
10/11 — St. Louis, MO, Sheldon Concert Hall
10/12 — Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Theater*
10/13 — Chicago, IL, Vic Theater*
10/14 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Massey Hall*
10/16 — Boston, MA, Berklee Performance Center*
10/18 — New York, NY, The Town Hall*
10/19 — Philadelphia, PA, Merriam Theater*
10/21 — Washington, D.C., Lisner Auditorium*
* = with Robert Plant.
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