By Stevie Connor.
Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens is collaborating with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project on a fundraising initiative and a powerful music video for her song "Another Wasted Life.” The music video was released today, on the 10th annual Wrongful Conviction Day.
The “Another Wasted Life” video features 22 wrongfully convicted people, clients of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. It aims to raise awareness for the stories and voices of those who have experienced the injustices of the criminal legal system.
Giddens recently filmed the video in Philadelphia with the 22 formerly incarcerated people, who collectively spent more than 500 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. It features their names and the number of years that each spent wrongly incarcerated. The video was directed by Daniel Madoff.
Inspired by the tragic story of Kalief Browder, a young man wrongfully incarcerated at New York City’s Rikers Island for three years, where he was subjected to nearly two years of solitary confinement, Giddens wrote "Another Wasted Life" as a reminder of the human toll exacted by wrongful convictions and the importance of prison reform.
Says Giddens: “I wrote ‘Another Wasted Life’ after reading about the tragic suicide of Kalief Browder – another soul caught up in the incarceration system for a crime he didn’t commit. He was put into solitary for almost 2 years, a torture no one deserves, no matter what they did or did not do. The whole for-profit prison industrial complex – an outgrowth of slavery – is a stain on the American story; the people and families caught up in it, and in the numerous gaping holes in the social safety net, need incredible amounts of support.
If you know anything about my work, you know my music tends to have a mission – one that amplifies underrepresented voices and stories. My new album is a little bit different, and this track is stand-alone in its mission due to the weight of its place in our world.
These ongoing societal struggles are so far beyond any one of us, and have been long at play; but, I will use my platform to take things just one step further in the conversation.”
Giddens and the Pennsylvania Innocence Project have also launched a fundraising initiative to support the legal and reentry services provided by innocence organizations. In addition to placing a fundraising link on the video, Giddens has fundraised for local innocence organizations throughout her tour. She partnered with a wrongfully incarcerated artist named Spel to create limited-edition merchandise items, with all proceeds going to support each local organization. Spel’s case was one of the first to be picked up by Pennsylvania Innocence Project at its inception in 2009 and is still open almost 15 years later. She has also invited innocence organizations across the country to set up information tables at shows, is highlighting their work on stage, and has dedicated all tips at the merchandise table to them.
“We are proud to have Rhiannon Giddens standing with us this Wrongful Conviction Day in support of innocence work. We are grateful for her efforts to lift up the voices of our clients - those who have been exonerated and those who are still fighting for freedom - and to raise support to keep our work going,” says Meredith Rapkin, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.
“Another Wasted Life” is featured on Giddens’ You’re the One, released in August on Nonesuch Records. Giddens’ first album of all original songs has recently been featured on Today Show, CBS Saturday, CBS Mornings, the New York Times, Vulture’s “A Long Talk,” NPR’s Morning Edition, the Associated Press, GRAMMY.com and Garden & Gun, with additional coverage and reviews from Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pitchfork, NPR Music and much more. Giddens’ touring continues into next year with headlining shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and the Ace Theater in Los Angeles. She was also recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for her collaborative opera, Omar, along with Michael Abels. Giddens is also a host on Arts Talk, a new PBS program on which she, Elvis Costello and Brian Stokes Mitchell discuss their careers. She was also recently featured on Fast Company's Most Creative People in Businesslist. Giddens is also the Artistic Director of Silkroad, an organization and Ensemble, with a project dedicated to performing in prisons (Project MUSIC).
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project works to exonerate those convicted of crimes they did not commit, to prevent innocent people from being prosecuted and convicted, and to help those wrongfully convicted transition to freedom. PAinnocence.org
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
October 2: Paramount Theatre, Charlottesville, VA*
November 5: George Mason University Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Fairfax
November 9: The Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara
November 10: Balboa Theater, San Diego
November 11: Soka Performing Arts Center, Aliso Viejo,
November 12: The Soraya at CSUN, NorthridgeNovember 15: Bing Concert Hall, Stanford
November 16: Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis
November 17: Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley
November 18: Green Music Center, Sonoma
February 10, 2024: Maison de la culture de Creteil, Creteil
February 11, 2024: Doornroosje Main Hall, Nijmegen, Netherlands
February 13, 2024: Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
February 14, 2024: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
February 17, 2024: Elb Philharmonie, Hamburg, Germany
February 18, 2024: Lido, Berlin, Germany
February 19, 2024: Kulturkirche Ost, Köln, Germany
February 21, 2024: Barbican Centre, London, UK
February 23, 2024: Pavillion Theatre, Glasgow, UK
February 25, 2024: Vicar St., Dublin, Ireland
March 14, 2024: Worcester, MA, Holy Cross University
March 16, 2024: Beacon Theatre, New York, NY
March 19, 2024: State College, PA, Penn State
March 20, 2024: Cincinnati, OH, Memorial Hall
April 15, 2024: Vancouver, BC, Chan Centre
April 17, 2024: Beaverton, OR, The Reser
April 18, 2024: Beaverton, OR, The Reser
April 19, 2024: Seattle, WA, Meany Center
April 21, 2024: San Francisco, CA, The Fillmore
April 22, 2024: Monterey, CA, Golden State Theater
April 23, 2024: Santa Barbara, CA, Granada Theater
April 25, 2024: Ace Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
April 27, 2024: Tucson, AZ, The Rialta
April 28, 2024: Mesa, AZ, Ikeda Theater
April 30, 2024: Dallas, TX, Longhorn Ballroom
May 2, 2024: Austin, TX, Paramount Theatre
^with Adia Victoria
*with Charly Lowry
+with The Legendary Ingramettes
@Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens
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