Hollywood,
CA (January 31, 2010) – Grammy Award winning artists, The
Roots, teamed up with co-host John
Legend last night, along with an all-star cast of musicians,
for the 6th
annual ROOTS JAM SESSION (RJS). Living up to its reputation,
the night featured impromptu musical sets with combination of talent
from every musical genre in order to celebrate the launch of environmental
coalition, Green
Music Group, and the newly re-launched Vibe Lifestyle
Network.
The 2010 Roots
Jam was once again the place to be the night before the Grammys
with attendees including The Jonas Brothers, Common, Slash,
Ryan Philippe, Elizabeth Banks, Nick Swardson, Jason
Biggs, Sean Paul, Asher Roth, Mena Suvari, Kelsey
Grammar, comedian George Lopez, Macy Gray, One Tree Hill’s Kate
Voegele, Heroes’ James Kyson Lee, Destiny’s Child ‘s
Michelle Williams, and Grammy-Nominee for Best new Artist: Keri
Hilson, and performances by The Legendary Roots Crew
with Estelle, Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Mack Maine,
Scott Storch, Shanell, DWoods, Ledisi, Bilal, Foreign Exchange, Crystal
Antlers, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and John Legend.
Highlights
from this year’s jam include:
• British chanteuse and Grammy nominee Estelle
bringing the crowd back in time to the '50s with a funktified version
of the Temptations' 'Get Ready.'
• Members of Young Money crew – Mack Maine and
Lil Twist and Shanell -on stage for a special
performance of her track ‘Glamorous Life.’
• Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda’s
extended free form immediately following Jay Electronica’s
performance of his buzz track 'Exhibit C.
• Crystal Antlers, a band who once traveled
across the US via a bug powered on recycled vegetable oil, ending
their cover of funkadelic classic “Free Your Mind and Your Ass
Will Follow” by knocking their percussion off the stage.
During the non-stop
stage show, the diversely eclectic invite-only crowd sipped on Red
Bull and Ketel One, while playing DJ Hero™ and of course tweeting
about their every move. Slash wrote: “Watching the Roots...f&$%ing
amazing!” while Joe Jonas wrote: “Just watched @questlove
and the roots crew with @johnlegend rock it out tonight!!” The
Roots Jam Session is produced by Kevin Seldon of
Keldof and
Tina Farris of TF Tours and 2010
title partners included Converse, Guitar Hero® 5,
Okayplayer,
and DJ Hero, as well as the generous support of Kodak,
Klipsch, Color Service, and Audi.
As always however,
the night was not just about music – anchored in social awareness,
the annual live experience also celebrated the
launch of GREEN MUSIC GROUP (GMG), a large-scale, environmental
coalition of musicians from Dave Matthews Band and Sheryl Crow to
Maroon 5 and The Roots...all using their collective power to bring
about widespread environmental change within the music industry and
around the globe. Artists were invited to sign limited edition numbered
6th annual Roots Jam Session Concert Posters, printed on recycled
paper and designed by commissioned artist RIES, to be auctioned off
with 100% of proceeds benefiting GMG. Furthermore, guests were invited
to the GMG lounge to screen print logos from GMG and the 2010
Roots Jam Logo Contest Winners onto shirts from recycled materials
with the help of Studio3. Upon entrance, guest were given necklaces
from Red Star made out of guitar picks, while performers received
bracelets made of recycled guitar strings from WearYourMusic.org.
Additionally, all CO2 emissions from the night were neutralized through
the support of renewable energy.
"With this
year’s Roots Jam Session theme of Renewal,
the 6th annual Roots Jam was the perfect partner for our re-launch,"
said Chris Smith, President of Vibe Lifestyle Network. "Both
Vibe and The Roots share a great love and respect of music, musicians
and fans.” Vibe Magazine and VIBE.com successfully returned
to the music industry last month after a temporary shutdown in June
2009. Their first revamped print issue is available on newsstands
now. For exclusive interviews from the 2010 Roots Jam, visit http://www.vibe.com/roots-jam-session
For official images,
go to http://bit.ly/rjs6wireimage/
For more information on the jam, go to http://RootsJamSession.com/
###
About Green Music Group:
Green Music Group is a large-scale, high-profile environmental coalition
of musicians, industry leaders and music fans using our collective
power to bring about widespread environmental change within the music
industry and around the globe. Green Music Group is a project of Reverb,
a 501(c)(3) environmental organization founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist
Adam Gardner and his wife, environmentalist Lauren Sullivan. Since
2004, Reverb has greened over 80 major music tours while conducting
grassroots outreach to over 10 million music fans.
About VIBE Lifestyle Network:
VIBE Lifestyle Network is the parent company of VIBE Magazine and
VIBE.COM and is all about recreating and redefining hip-hop culture.
VIBE Lifestyle Network is a vertical content and advertising network
which represents over 25 websites reaching over 19 million unique
users per month. The new VIBE.com and VIBE Lifestyle Network are the
premier destinations for urban music, entertainment, culture and lifestyle.
About
The Roots
Jam Session:
The Roots Jam Session, occurring annually the night before the Grammys,
has become an industry staple through the years and has become one
of the most anticipated experiences of Grammy week. Having been covered
in everything from The Washington Post and Rolling Stone to People
Magazine, the annual Jam is produced by Kevin Seldon of Keldof
Marketing and Tina Farris of TF Tours. The Roots are Ahmir “?uestlove”
Thompson (drums), Kamal Gray (keyboards), Kirk “Captain Kirk”
Douglas (guitar), Owen Biddle (bass), Frank Knuckles (percussion),
Damon “Tuba Gooding” Bryson (sousaphone), and Tarik “Black
Thought” Trotter (emcee).