Kiwi Artists join Pearl Jam to launch Global Citizen Tickets

Kiwi Artists join Pearl Jam to launch Global Citizen Tickets in Aotearoa

Global Poverty Project offers tickets to see Pearl Jam at ‘The Big Day Out’ in Auckland

The legendary band Pearl Jam have joined great NZ acts like Tiki Taane, Anika Moa, Six60, I am Giant, Moana & The Tribe, Louis Baker, & Thomas Oliver to support the NZ launch of a major new anti-poverty campaign from the Global Poverty Project called Global Citizen Tickets (www.globalcitizen.org/tickets-nz).

Pearl Jam have sold over 60 million albums since their inception in 1991 and are firm supporters of the anti-poverty movement.

“Pearl Jam is very grateful to be part of such an innovative and generous group of artists and music business leaders participating in this project,” said Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. “It reflects the DNA of our band and business, and expands it to respond to some of the greatest inequities and challenges facing humanity.”

Pearl Jam Manager Kelly Curtis and Global Poverty Project CEO Hugh Evans are co-founders of the Global Citizen Tickets campaign.

“Music and movements go hand-in-hand,” said Evans. “Music has been a key part of social change, from ending the slave trade in the 1800s, through the freedom chants against apartheid in South Africa, to the Peace movements of the 60’s and 70’s, and that's still so true today. It gives us an outlet to express that which we care about in the most meaningful and passionate of ways.”

With support in the USA from international artists such as Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keyes, Rihanna, Kanye West, and many others, Global Poverty Project is spearheading the call for a new social movement to end extreme poverty, within a generation.

Points on the globalcitizen.org platform can be earned through simple online actions such as emailing a politician, sharing a film on facebook, or signing a petition. Fans then go into the draw to win tickets to see Pearl Jam at the Big Day Out in Auckland next week, and to see NZ musicians in their concerts this year.

Kiwi musicians are excited to be involved in such an ambitious, innovative campaign to help the extreme poor. “It’s something we can do to help" said Tiki Taane, who is releasing a unique new album at the end of this month. “By offering tickets as a reward, it gets people onto the platform and learning about all the great things they can do to help the world’s extreme poor. Every action helps, whether it is taking a few seconds to add your name to the ZeroPoverty2030 petition to world leaders, or simply watching a 2 minute film about poverty’.

All the artists involved have each donated two tickets to one of their upcoming shows to be featured as a reward on the platform. Many more NZ artists will be announced in the coming months, as tour schedules are finalised, and Global Citizen Tickets will also be launched in Australia in early 2014.

NZ artists have already shown great support to GPP with the Global Citizen Concert at the Town Hall in Auckland last year, and with recordings at the Roundhead and York St Studios for a Global Citizen Album to be released later this year. GPP Creative Director Ella Rose says the support from the NZ music industry has been amazing.

“With 1.2 billion people in the world still living in extreme poverty, our aim is to get the issue of extreme poverty firmly on the national agenda, and for NZ to be once again be a leading voice calling for change,” Rose said. “Just as NZ stood up during the Springbok tour, and with the anti-nuclear movement, NZ is a country that can lead the world with its’ support for social justice issues like this.”

Building on enduring support from leading NZ artists, musicians, managers, studios, music publishing companies, promoters, venues and international acts like Pearl Jam , Global Citizen Tickets aims to remind music fans of the power they have to make positive change. Go to www.globalcitizen.org/tickets-nz to get started.

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