Paul Wilson: Don’t Forget; It’s a Franti Friday @ The Crossroads

The gates open at 7:00 and some of the happiest music you’ll come across takes the stage at 8:00 p.m. tonight at the Crossroads…

I’ll be there, come say hello.

As I wrote in my preview piece last week, Michael Franti and Spearhead is touring for their release of “All People” and, for my taste, it’s the best possible combination of reggae groove with a side order of folk, rock, hip hop, pop, jazz and funk.

Franti’s trademark – socially conscious lyrics – are still firmly in place, but after some life changes, he’s cranking out some really positive, happy music these days. Not as politically in your face, not the angry young man he once was but still very much the poet and activist he’s always been.

And man, what a fresh, clean sound.

In a recent interview Franti said, “Music is sunshine. Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.

“Music is something you can’t hold in your hands, smell it, taste it or even see it, yet somehow just coming together and feeling these little vibrations that tickle our eardrums can somehow lift us all up out of our most difficult moments in life to unimaginable heights.”

Franti credits the Midwest, with a good deal of his success.

Come to the Crossroads tonight, it’ll be an evening of surprising music from an artist you may not know that much about, but will leave you headed for the iTunes store afterwards.