KXT 91.7 presents Michael Franti & Spearhead with special guest Ripe

Artist Presale: 1/29 @ 12pm
Spotify Presale: 1/30 @ 12pm
All Presales End: 1/30 @ 10pm
Public on Sale: 1/31 @ 10am

Michael Franti

Michael Franti is a globally recognized musician, activist, and award-winning filmmaker celebrated for his high-energy live shows, inspiring music, worldwide philanthropic efforts, and unshakable optimism. Over his multi-decade career, Franti has earned three Billboard No. 1 hits with the uplifting anthems “Sound of Sunshine,” “Say Hey (I Love You),” and “I Got You,” along with six Top 30 Hot AC singles, 10 Top 25 AAA singles, and three Billboard Top 5 Rock Albums. His 13th studio album, Big Big Love, released in November 2023, debuted in the Top 5 on the iTunes Pop Chart behind Taylor Swift. Praised by American Songwriter as “an energizing batch of songs that spotlight the common threads that connect us,” the album features 17 tracks co-written by Franti, showcasing his signature tenacity, inclusiveness, and optimism.

In 2025, Franti will embark on the Welcome To The Family Tour, a large summer tour across the US that celebrates connection, unity, and community. Additionally, Michael is set to release a brand-new album this year, continuing his legacy of creating music that uplifts and inspires.

At the end of 2024, Michael & Spearhead concluded their worldwide Togetherness Tour, performing in over 90 markets, including iconic venues like Red Rocks, The Greek Theatre, and Pier 17, along with limited runs in the UK, Europe, and Australia. The tour featured a diverse lineup of special guests, including Stephen Marley, Trevor Hall, Niko Moon, Citizen Cope, Trombone Shorty, and more.

When not on tour, the Bay Area native resides in Bali, where he owns Soulshine Bali, a 32-room 5-star boutique hotel in Ubud. Focused on joy through wellness and music, the hotel offers unique retreat opportunities, accommodations, and special events. This spring, Soulshine Bali will expand with the addition of The Sanctuary, five new luxury rooms designed to elevate the guest experience.

Franti also fosters community offstage through his wish-granting nonprofit, Do It For The Love, which brings individuals with life-threatening illnesses, veterans, and children with severe challenges to concerts around the world. To date, the organization has fulfilled over 3,500 wishes and touched the lives of more than 15,000 people, continuing to inspire hope and connection worldwide.

Ripe

Ripe’s newest album Bright Blues is a collection of 12 songs full of sleek grooves and  bold melodies that the Boston quintet put together to help ride out tough times, an  anthem for better days ahead. “The wildest thing for me is that the record simultaneously sounds like it has the scars of everything we’ve been through and also that it doesn’t — it’s joyful music, which is very exciting given that it was made in the middle of getting hit in the stomach,” says singer Robbie Wulfsohn, who came together with guitarist Jon Becker, drummer Sampson Hellerman, and trombonist Calvin Barthel while they were all studying at Berklee College of Music.

The band drew acclaim from the likes of the Boston Globe, Huffington Post and WXPN with their first full-length, Joy in the Wild Unknown. Their streams on Spotify surged past 56 million as they conquered stages at festivals including Bonnaroo, Firefly, SweetWater and Bottlerock, and sold tens of thousands of tickets across the US, including selling out the iconic House of Blues Boston and Brooklyn Steel. Bright Blues is their first release after signing to indie powerhouse Glassnote Records and their first release working with outside co-writers. Teaming up on production with Noah Conrad (BTS, Niall Horan) and Ryan Linvill (Olivia Rodrigo, Dermot Kennedy) helped bring the high-energy, freewheeling stage show to the recording studio, with the result being an album that shows the full scope of the band’s abilities as writers and performers. The live show has always been at the core of who Ripe is, and now the recorded music can stand alongside it as an all-encompassing representation of who the band is and where they are going.