Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

Dear Friends,

Please excuse the form letter nature of this but we are trying to reach out to as many of the friends of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars as possible. If you know of anyone else who would be interested in seeing the band on this tour, please forward this information to them.

Some great things are happening for the band beginning this weekend. The band is kicking off the first leg of a tour of the US and Europe with an appearance at the Jackson Hole Film Festival followed by an appearance at Detroit Festival of the Arts on June 10. For a complete list of dates check here sierraleonesrefugeeallstars.com but also note that more dates are still being added.

On June 11, the band will perform at a special event for the ONE campaign which will be focused on encouraging U.S. presidential candidates and the American electorate to prioritize issues of extreme poverty and global health. Tuesday, June 12 the band will appear live on NPR's Talk of The Nation. That same day, the Amnesty International compilation CD project, Instant Karma, with a focus on Darfur will be released. A long list of superstar artists have contributed their versions of John Lennon songs and SLRAS will be a part of the project with their collaboration with Aerosmith on "Give Peace A Chance". And on June 26, the group's award winning documentary will begin airing on PBS - and will then be available in August for purchase and for rental via Netflix.

Having only recently risen above life in the refugee camps themselves, the band is already giving back wherever possible with collaborations on the coming tour. In addition to the aforementioned projects with ONE and Amnesty, other shows will help raise funds and/or profile for ninemillion.org, Witness, the Peace Corps, Immigrant Rights, Save The Children and numerous other organizations.

We hope you will be able to get out to support the group this summer. This will be their first full US tour with Grace Ampomah, wife of leader Reuben M. Koroma and featured performer in the documentary. Also new on this tour is guitarist Abdul Beal, who played on the CD but has never before toured in the US.

Peace,

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

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June 2007

SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS TO UPLIFT ONE VOTE '08 EVENT

SETS LIVE INTERVIEW/PERFORMANCE ON NPR’S "TALK OF THE NATION"

COLLABORATES WITH AEROSMITH ON DARFUR BENEFIT DISC

AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY SLATED FOR PBS JUNE 26TH

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars will proudly participate in the forthcoming ONE Vote '08 event in Washington D.C. on June 11, 2007. Performing on a rooftop near The White House, the SLRAS appearance is designed to help engage and energize U.S. presidential candidates and the American electorate on issues of extreme poverty and global health.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have lived through unimaginable tragedy and rose up to become internationally celebrated for their inspiration and the healing power of music. The ONE Vote '08 event will be hosted by Co-chairs former Senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle who hope to elevate such issues in the U.S. political arena and secure commitments from candidates to support and fund real solutions. The following day, the band will be featured live in a performance and interview segment on NPR’s "Talk of The Nation" (June 12th).

Barely rising from their own refugee status, SLRAS’ story is as inspiring as it is incredible. Elevating their uplifting music and message on the heels of appearances on Oprah Winfrey and in continued support of their acclaimed Anti- debut Living Like A Refugee the group will begin canvassing North America June 8th and 9th with performances at Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Film Festival.

The aforementioned film festival dates celebrate the group’s appearance in the widely- heralded, award-winning 2006 documentary film "Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars". Tracing the troupe’s incredible three year journey, from its formation in a Guinea refugee camp after fleeing its native Sierra Leone in West Africa during that country’s brutal civil war, to recording in a proper studio, the Zach Niles/Banker White film will begin screening nationwide on PBS’ Independent Documentary Film Series, POV, June 26th. Finding initial support from the likes of Keith Richards, Sir Paul McCartney, Angelina Jolie and Ice Cube, Netflix distribution of the critically praised film will follow in early August. As with all sales of the ANTI CD, a portion of the proceeds from all sales of the DVD will benefit the United Nations ninemillion.org campaign to help child refugees worldwide.

In the meantime, look for Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars to appear alongside R.E.M., U2, Green Day and others on the upcoming Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. This double disc benefit compilation of John Lennon songs features SLRAS collaborating with Aerosmith on "Give Peace A Chance" and releases the same day as the NPR appearance, June 12th.

Diverse in age and character, from Reuben M. Koroma, the sage, 42-year old songwriter and guiding light of the group, to Black Nature, an orphaned teenage rapper, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have a common bond in the loss and displacement caused by their homeland’s civil war, and a shared belief in the transformative power of music. "As harrowing as these personal tales may be, the music buoying them is uplifting," wrote New York Times critic Stephen Holden. "The cliché bears repeating: music heals and creates community."

Their music was featured in the film Blood Diamond featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have appeared onstage with friends Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, which spawned the "Give Peace A Chance" collaboration. 2007 has already seen the band perform at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and wrap up a successful tour of Australia.

"Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars" Transform Tragedy Into Inspiring Music, Tuesday, June 26 on PBS's P.O.V. Series

The P.O.V. series (a cinema term for “point of view”) celebrates its 20th year on PBS starting Tuesday, June 19, 2007. P.O.V. is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series. The 20th season kicks off with two films, Rain in a Dry Land (June 19) and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars (June 26), scheduled to coincide with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) World Refugee Day (June 20). P.O.V. is broadcast Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (check local listings), June through September on PBS, with primetime specials in the fall and winter. ...see full press release >>

MAY 2007

SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS BRING ANTI- DEBUT TO U.S. STAGES

BAND COLLABORATES WITH AEROSMITH ON DARFUR BENEFIT DISC

AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY SLATED FOR PBS JUNE 26TH

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars celebrate their acclaimed Anti- debut Living Like A Refugee with an extensive run of U.S. tour dates, commencing June 8th and 9th with performances at Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Film Festival. The first in a number of festival appearances and headline dates planned this summer, SLRAS will canvas North America until September 8th.

The aforementioned film festival dates celebrate the group’s appearance in the widely-heralded, award-winning documentary film 'Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars’. Tracing the troupe’s incredible three year journey, from its formation in a Guinean refugee camp - after fleeing their native Sierra Leone in West Africa during that country’s brutal ten year civil war - to recording in a proper studio, the Zach Niles/Banker White film will begin screening nationwide on PBS’ Independent Documentary Film Series, POV, June 26th. Nationwide distribution of the critically praised film will follow in early August via Red Envelope Entertainment, a subsidiary of Netflix.

In related news, SLRAS will also appear alongside R.E.M., U2, Green Day and others on the upcoming double-disc benefit compilation of John Lennon songs. Collaborating with Aerosmith on "Give Peace A Chance," Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur releases June 12th.

Diverse in age and character, from Reuben M. Koroma, the sage, 42-year old songwriter and guiding light of the group, to Black Nature, an orphaned teenage rapper, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have a common bond in the loss and displacement caused by their homeland’s civil war, and a shared belief in the transformative power of music. "As harrowing as these personal tales may be, the music buoying them is uplifting," wrote New York Times critic Stephen Holden. "The cliché bears repeating: music heals and creates community."

After leaping onto the world stage in 2006, SLRAS played high profile festivals including Bonnaroo, Montreal Jazz Fest and New York’s Summerstage, as well as Fuji Rock in Japan. Completing two tours of North America and another through Europe, the band also found time to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show last December 8th, where they performed the title track from Living Like a Refugee.

Their music was featured in the film Blood Diamond featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have appeared onstage with friends Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, which spawned the "Give Peace A Chance" collaboration. And 2007 has already seen the band perform at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and wrap up a successful tour of Australia.

SEPTEMBER 2006

FOLLOWING AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILM, ANTI RECORDS TO RELEASE ALBUM 'LIVING LIKE A REFUGEE' TRACING GROUP'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY, SEPT 26

FROM A REFUGEE CAMP IN REMOTE AFRICA, WRITING SONGS FOR THE WORLD TO HEAR

WEST AFRICAN GROOVES, REGGAE RHYTHMS AND RHYTHMIC TRADITIONAL FOLK TESTIFY TO TRANSCENDENT POWER OF MUSIC

"As harrowing as these personal tales may be, the music buoying them is uplifting. The cliché bears repeating: music heals and creates community."
-Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES

On September 26, Anti Records will release 'Living Like A Refugee' by Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. The album follows the film 'The Refugee All Stars' - one of the most acclaimed documentaries of the past year - which traces the incredible journey of a group of musicians who fled their native Sierra Leone in West Africa during that country's brutal ten year civil war, eventually journeying back to be reunited with family and friends, and realize their dream of recording in a proper studio.

Recorded over a three-year period, from August 2002 to October 2005, the songs on the album serve as bookends to the absorbing story told in the film. After fleeing Sierra Leone, the members of the RAS came together in the Sembayounya Refugee Camp deep in the remote countryside of neighboring Guinea. They made their earliest recordings there, some of which are included on this album. Imagine the scene: by the light of an oil lamp, the RAS provide soul-searing harmonies accompanied by impossibly worn acoustic guitars and makeshift percussion on songs that address suffering and hope in equal measure. Elsewhere on the album this spirit is amplified, literally and figuratively, on tracks recorded at Island Studios in Freetown, Sierra Leone, after the members of the RAS returned to their homeland.

Lyrically, the RAS' songs decry the insanity of war, the corruption that surrounds them, and the living conditions they endure, all in poetic, at times wry, fashion ("When two elephants are fighting/The grass them a suffer."). As the RAS combine elements of West African music, reggae, rhythmic traditional folk and hip-hop, the results are earthy, emotionally charged, and indomitable.

The members of Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars are diverse in age and character. From Reuben M. Koroma, the sage, 42-year old songwriter and guiding light of the group, to Black Nature, an orphaned teenage rapper. Yet they have a common bond in the loss and displacement caused by Sierra Leone's civil war, and a shared belief in the transportive power of music.

Earlier this year the RAS fulfilled a dream by playing their first-ever U.S. show at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, TX. While there the RAS also performed at a local soup kitchen, and led an impromptu street performance on Austin's main drag, Sixth Street, which many attendees remember as this year's quintessential SXSW moment. More recently the RAS have played many of the summer's most prestigious festivals including Bonnaroo, Summer Stage in NYC's Central Park, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Their tour rolls on with an upcoming July 20 performance at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles.

'The Refugee All-Stars' a documentary film by Zach Niles and Banker White has earned seven major awards in the past few months alone, including the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the AFI Festival in 2005, and the Audience Award at this year's Miami Film Festival. For more information on the film, including a schedule of upcoming screenings, go to http://www.refugeeallstars.org.