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Tag: Music

Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement Urges Carlos Santana To Cancel Tel Aviv Concert

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Opponents of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine are urging superstar guitarist Carlos Santana to support their boycott of Israel’s apartheid policies.

Santana’s Luminosity Tour is scheduled to stop in Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park on July 30, but activists from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement are hoping he’ll change his mind at the behest of his peace-loving fans.

If he follows through with his plans, it would be Santana’s first performance in Israel in 29 years.

The Mexican-American musician canceled a 2010 appearance, although reports diverge over whether the cancellation was due to scheduling difficulties or pressure from pro-Palestine activists.

SXStreetcrash: A Tribute to David Bowie In The Streets At SXSW (Photo Gallery)

Posted in Journalism, and SXSW

2016 marked the 7th “SXStreetcrash,” an interactive, guerrilla performance event held in the center of 6th Street, Austin’s downtown nightclub district, during the massive SXSW Music festival. It’s hosted every year by Crash Alchemy, a local arts collective.

This year’s SXStreetcrash was a tribute to David Bowie, in honor of his recent passing. For the first time, the local chapter of the Decentralized Dance Party joined in, providing sound through their synchronized boomboxes. The DDP is a movement that originated in Canada which believes in promoting world peace through partying, and they use a portable FM transmitter to create a dance floor in the streets.

The idea of the Streetcrash is that the participants, including many community volunteers, gather ahead of time to create characters for the performance and practice a set of dance moves. Then, the group filters out into the 6th Street crowds, acting strangely and attracting as much attention as possible before, suddenly, coming together in a grand performance that “crashes the party.”

SXSW Recap Wrap-Up (But LOTS More Writing To Come)

Posted in Journalism, and SXSW

I survived SXSW 2016 … but barely?

Unfortunately, I spent the last two days of the event recovering from a short-lived stomach bug that’s been virulently spreading through Austin over the last couple weeks, and apparently even got to at least one band, according to a music journalist friend of mine.

Now that I’m through the worst of both South by South West and my own immune system, it’s time to catch up on writing.

Here’s a recap of my recent features on SXSW:

A new direction for my journalism

Posted in Archive, Journalism, MintPress News, and SXSW

SXSW is known for the amazing diversity of talent it features, but also gets a bad rap for being corporate dominated and inaccessible to many people. It deserves a lot of that criticism, honestly. But, since I have access to essentially every part of it, I should take advantage of that and share it with all of you.

I want to give you my unique gonzo perspective on the event, and report on some of the weirdest, most interesting, or just unfairly overlooked panels, artists, and films. SXSW takes place this year from March 11-19. Here’s a small sample of what I’m looking forward to covering:

Lauryn Hill Cancels Israel Concert After #KillingMeSoftly Social Media Campaign

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Bowing to intense pressure from a social media campaign based around one of her own hit songs, musician Lauryn Hill canceled a scheduled appearance in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In her Monday announcement, Hill stressed her desire for peace and recovery.

It’s the latest victory for the “cultural boycott” declared by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to end investment in Israel until Israel ends the illegal occupation of Palestine. International support for the BDS movement has grown since last summer’s brutal Israeli offensive which killed over 2,000 Palestinian civilians and left 150,000 homeless.