Michael Franti has always spoken his mind through his music: from his early punk rock band Beatnigs, to the industrial-noise of Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, to the conscious and soulful hip-hop of Spearhead. Michael Franti spans the personal, and the political, with grace, depth, and beauty. If the times have been marked by tension and fear, Franti offers compassion and release. In the two decades that Michael Franti has been composing music, he has grown from a black-booted voice of youthful rage into a barefoot clarion for social justice. For the past 12 years Franti has produced the annual Power to the Peaceful" festival, which draws over 70,000 people to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. In addition to his groundbreaking recordings and globally acclaimed live concerts, Franti is a renowned speaker for social justice and human rights. He has lectured at many of this country's top universities, including Yale, Georgetown and Stanford, and shared the stage with the likes of Mohammad Ali, Bill Clinton, Michael Moore, Ralph Nader, and Gloria Steinem. Michael Franti continues to stay true to his beliefs making him one of the most relevant and influential artists of this generation. Look for him this spring, performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and at the prestigious NAACP Image Awards.