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Playing for Change!

· Music,Social,RingoStarr,PlayingForChange,DavidCrosby

We are huge fans of the Playing for Change organization! Underlying their mission is something near and dear to our shared philosophy, connecting people through music. As the Internet proliferated, being able to jam with anyone around the world regardless of location or distance became the holy grail.

Playing for Change demonstrates how this dream can be made real. According to their website, “The idea for this project came from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.” Playing For Change has traveled the world, recording musicians, both famous and unknown, as they collaborate and create “Songs Around the World.” The recordings are edited seamlessly into a video where we segue from musician to musician seeing them playing in their home country. Though they are spread across the entire globe, this is truly a family making joyous music together.

What makes it especially amazing is that while we see plenty of famous musicians -- Ringo Starr, David Crosby, Robbie Robertson, and Jimmy Buffet to name just a few – it is many of the unknown players who often steal the show. On The Weight and Gimme Shelter, Roselyn Williams sings in Jamaica with, “a voice that penetrates your very soul.” The Weight, by the way, was uploaded to YouTube just 10 days ago and already has over 2 million views! Char in Tokyo plays a soulful guitar and Ahmed Al Harmi from the Kingdom of Bahrain, blew me away playing a stringed instrument I didn’t even know the name of, an Oud.

On Ripple, Roberto Luti from Livorno, Italy draws a beautiful tone from a rusted steel body guitar; the music is beautiful even if the instrument is not.

Words can’t do this music justice. It took me hours to write this blog post because I couldn’t stop watching the videos.

Check it out for yourself at https://playingforchange.com/ and subscribe on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/PlayingForChange. And, consider supporting the causes they are championing!