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Laura Mvula, Tom Odell, Hozier and more join Ed Sheeran in 'Give A Home' gigs

1,000 musicians will perform on 20 September for Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds global refugee solidarity concerts

Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds have today announced 90 new acts to perform intimate shows for the global refugee concert series Give a Home for Human Rights. Added to line-up are award-winning artists Laura Mvula, Tom Odell, Hozier and many more. The intimate concerts will take place in people’s homes around the world on 20 September.

The latest musicians join a line-up of hundreds of artists already confirmed that include Ed Sheeran, who will play in Washington D.C., Fossils in Calcutta, Freshly Ground in Cape Town, and Daughter and Kate Tempest who will be among those playing in London. The full list of gigs is available on sofarsounds.com/giveahome, where people have until 10 September to apply for tickets for the shows taking place in their city.

Launched on World Refugee Day in June, Give a Home will see 1,000 musicians in total playing in 300 shows in people’s homes in more than 200 cities worldwide. The concert series - also featuring UK gigs from Ghetts, Hot Chip, Jessie Ware and The National - brings together some of the world’s most recognised musicians, refugee artists and activists with refugees and local communities, and the money raised will support Amnesty’s work to protect human rights around the world.

The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, who will play in London, said:

“Music defies borders and politics.  We are proud to be one of hundreds of acts who will come together in cities around the world to support refugees.  Music is the ultimate form of solidarity, and as there are several refugees in the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, we are especially excited to take part in this celebration of unity.”

Hozier, who will be playing an intimate show in his hometown of Dublin, said:

"There's something wonderful about sharing a live music experience in the warmth and closeness of someone's home, which was my experience with Sofar. I'm thrilled to be taking part in the Give A Home gigs, a global act of welcome which embodies the hospitable spirit of Sofar with the important work of Amnesty International."

Give a Home comes as the global refugee population exceeds 22 million – the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War – with people forced to flee conflict and persecution across the world. The number of refugees from the brutal conflict in South Sudan alone has passed one and a half million, making it Africa’s largest refugee crisis, and the third biggest in the world after Syria and Afghanistan.

However, despite the numbers, the international community’s response has for the most part been completely inadequate. With a few notable exceptions, governments have demonstrated what Amnesty has termed a “shocking failure of leadership”, building walls and fences and introducing policies to keep refugees out, rather than working to share responsibility for hosting and assisting refugees, and to address the root causes of the crisis.

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty UK, said:

“We are delighted that so many fantastic musicians are signing up to Give A Home and that so many people around the country are opening their doors to host these gigs in solidarity with refugees.

“Governments have displayed a shocking failure of leadership over the refugee crisis, but ordinary people in communities across the world have been going out of their way to welcome refugees. Everyone performing, hosting or attending one of these gigs will be part of this movement for a better response to the crisis, in the UK and around the globe.”

The list of artists announced today for UK and Ireland shows are: Archive, Blaenavon, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Hozier, Imelda May, Jon Hopkins w/ Leo Abrahams, Marika Hackman, Nick Mulvey, Sivu, The Hoosiers, To Kill A King and We Were Promised Jetpacks.  

Full list of new artists added to the global line-up today are (A-Z): Alain Clark, Amber Coffman, Archive, Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles, Blaenavon, Bokanté, BØRNS, Brett Dennen, Esperanza Spalding, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, HAERTS, Hozier, Imelda May, Jakubi, Jesse & Joy, Joan As Police Woman, Jon Hopkins w/ Leo Abrahams, Juana Molina, Julia Holter, Kamau, Kate Miller-Heidke, Laura Mvula, Ledisi, Lisa Hannigan, Ludovico Einaudi, Majozi, Marika Hackman, Mashrou’ Leila, Moby, Molly Kate, Kestner, Nick Mulvey, Nick Waterhouse, Peggy Seeger, Ryan Cabrera, Seratones, Shamir, Sivu, Stonefield, The Hoosiers, The Mowgli's, Time For Three, To Kill A King, Tom Odell and We Were Promised Jetpacks.

Give a Home for Human Rights

The concert series is a collaboration between Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights organisation, and Sofar Sounds, a London-based company that specialises in arranging secret concerts in people’s homes around the world. Sofar Sounds have previously hosted shows in venues ranging from back gardens in Cape Town to greenhouses in Tokyo.

Ticket availability

Applications for tickets are open until September 10 through sofarsounds.com/giveahome. People can select the city and event of their choice to be in with a chance of winning two tickets. They will have the option of making a donation when applying for tickets. The funds raised by the project will support Amnesty’s work to protect human rights around the world.

Give a Home is supported by VICE, Shazam and Facebook Live, which will be live-streaming and promoting the concerts globally.

Tackling the global refugee crisis and ‘I Welcome’

The refugee crisis affects the lives of more than 22 million people worldwide. Almost all are hosted outside the wealthiest nations, and currently just ten of the world’s 193 countries host more than half its refugees.

Give a Home is part of Amnesty’s ‘I Welcome’ campaign, which calls for a better international response to the global refugee crisis through governments sharing responsibility for hosting and assisting refugees.The campaign also aims to build grassroots solidarity with refugees, and create more welcoming communities across the UK for those fleeing conflict and persecution.

Sofar Sounds

Sofar Sounds is a global, grassroots network of artists, hosts and guests, all with the goal of helping to bring the magic back to live music. We curate secret, intimate gigs in unique spaces, from living rooms and churches to hoodie shops and fancy furniture showrooms. We aim to create performance spaces that are respectful to artists, where the audience lives in the moment and listens closely to the music.

It started as a hobby in London back in 2009, became a business a few years ago, and have grown into a global community of music lovers, supporting thousands of artists around the world, putting on hundreds of gigs every month across hundreds of cities.

 

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