Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins Lead League of Women Voters Tour
Election season is still one year away, but Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins and Anaïs Mitchell have announced a major U.S. tour to make sure that all voices are heard on Election Day 2016. The trio has teamed up with the League of Women Voters to launch the Use Your Voice Tour 2016, which kicks off February 12th in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the Mahaffey Theatre.
League president Elisabeth MacNamara explains the purpose of the tour as “a way to help fans get the election information they need, whether it’s how to update their voter registration, find easy-to-understand local candidate and voting information, or learn about getting involved in the League’s work.” The League of Women Voters conducts nonpartisan voter registration and education each year with the goal of empowering millions of voters to participate and ensure they have fair and equal access to the vote.
Given the shift in direction of Griffin’s recent album, Servant of Love, Watkins’ family band project Watkins Family Hour and Mitchell’s album successes, the acclaimed trio of voices will likely offer show-goers a far more interesting form of political participation than your run-of-the-mill rally. Griffin in particular has never shied away from the political. The moving Servant of Love track “Good and Gone” was inspired by a 2014 police shooting of a man holding a pellet gun in an Ohio Walmart. “One of the things that has always gone on is beating up on poor people and unfairness via economic circumstances,” Griffin told Rolling Stone Country. “Instead of going to the source of that problem, people point blame at things that have nothing to do with their frustration.”
The 38-city Use Your Voice Tour will continue through early April, including stops throughout the south and northeastern United States, before it wraps up in Northridge, California.
February 12 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Mahaffey Theatre
February 13 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center
February 16 – Athens, GA @ Hodgson Hall
February 17 – Opelika, AL @ Opelika Center for Performing Arts
February 18 – Atlanta @ Egyptian Ballroom
February 19 – Paducah, KY @ Clemens Fine Arts Center
February 20 – Lexington, KY @ Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts
February 23 – Greenville, SC @ Peace Center Concert Hall
February 25 – Newport News, VA @ Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall
February 26 – Durham, NC @ Page Auditorium
February 27 – Richmond, VA @ Camp Concert Hall
February 28 – Roanoke, VA @ Shaftman Performance Hall
March 1 – North Bethesda, MD @ Music Center at Strathmore
March 2 – Wilmington, DE @ Grand Opera House
March 3 – Lewisburg, PA @ Weis Center of the Performing Arts
March 4 – Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center Theatre
March 5 – Storrs, CT @ Jorgensen Auditorium
March 6 – Fairfield, CT @ Kelley Theatre
March 8 – St. Johnsbury, VT @ Fuller Hall
March 9 – Albany, NY @ Hart Theatre
March 10 – Boston @ Sanders Theatre
March 11 – Portsmouth, NH @ Music Hall Portsmouth
March 12 – Tarrytown, NY @ Music Hall Tarrytown
March 13 – Union, NJ @ Wilkins Theatre
March 15 – York, PA @ Strand Theatre
March 16 – University Park, PA @ Eisenhower Auditorium
March 18 – Middletown, OH @ Dave Finkelman Auditorium
March 19 – Clinton Township, MI @ Macomb Center for the Performing Arts
March 20 – Carmel, IN @ Palladium Center for Performing Arts
March 22 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall
March 23 – San Antonio @ Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
March 24 – Houston, TX @ Dosey Doe Coffee House
March 25 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
March 26 – Hutchinson, KS @ Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre
March 28 – St. Paul, MN @ the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium
March 30 – Davis, CA @ Jackson Hall
March 31 – Napa, CA @ Uptown Theatre
April 1 – Escondido, CA @ California Center for the Arts Concert Hall
April 2 – Northridge, CA @ Great Hall