HeadCount, a not-for-profit nonpartisan group run entirely by volunteers, announced that it has registered 25,000 voters across the country, and is adding about 3,000 new registrants per week.
Currently on tour with The Dave Matthews Band and soon to join the Dead and Phish when their summer touring schedule resumes, HeadCount ranks as the most active music-oriented voter registration group in the country. Its 60 street teams – representing almost every major city in the country – set up tables at approximately 40 concerts per week.
The Dead’s Bob Weir spoke about HeadCount and voter registration during every concert on the first leg of the Dead’s national summer tour. It marked the first time in 35 years that Weir, a member of HeadCount’s board of directors, has regularly talked about any issue on stage.
“I think I can speak for the entire band in saying that this is the most important election that has occurred in our lifetime,” said Weir recently. “If you ever want to participate in a real election again, I think you better vote in this one.”
Other artists who have welcomed HeadCount to their concerts include Santana, String Cheese Incident, Crosby Stills and Nash, Primus, Gov’t Mule, Galactic, Leftover Salmon, moe., The North Mississippi Allstars and The Disco Biscuits, among others.
The organization has also shot public service announcements, soon to air on TNT and TBS, starring Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio of Phish, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Les Claypool of Primus, and every member of The Dead.
Founded by Marc Brownstein, bassist for the popular electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits, and Andy Bernstein, a sports media reporter with strong ties to the live music community, HeadCount is an organization that is truly grassroots in structure. It has no paid employees, no major corporate funding and no central headquarters. But through a network of nearly 1,500 volunteers and the backing of a board of directors that includes Weir and the top managers and promoters in live music today, HeadCount has almost instantly become a unifying force within the music community.
See headcount.org for more info.
