Jessie Ware, Rudimental, Kate Tempest and Hot Chip will be among musicians holding gigs in people’s homes across the UK in September as part of a first-of-its-kind global day of concerts to unite people in welcoming refugees, Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds announced today (20 June), marking World Refugee Day.

A total of 1,000 musicians will be taking part in the new concert series, called Give a Home for Human Rights, on 20 September - with over 300 shows in 200 cities in 60 countries, from India to Cuba to the USA. In the UK, there will be 59 concerts in 25 cities, including Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Southampton.

The series - also featuring gigs from Daughter, Ghetts, Frank Turner and The National - will bring established and emerging artists together with refugees and local communities, and the money raised will support Amnesty International’s work to protect human rights around the world. Amnesty is documenting human rights abuses against refugees and pushing for governments to find a sustainable solution to the global refugee crisis.

Frank Turner said:

“I'm honoured to have been asked to be part of Give a Home for Human Rights’. Raising awareness of refugee issues, with Amnesty International, is vitally important; and it helps that I love playing house shows. So it's great to be involved.”

Jessie Ware said:

“It's an honour and a pleasure to be a part of this campaign. I’m really looking forward to being involved, listening to the other artists and most importantly raising money and awareness for an incredibly important issue.” 

Give a Home for Human Rights comes as the global refugee population exceeds 22 million – the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War – with people forced to flee conflict and persecution across the world. The number of refugees from the brutal conflict in South Sudan alone has passed one and a half million, making it  Africa’s largest refugee crisis, and the third biggest in the world after Syria and Afghanistan. 

However, despite the numbers, the international community’s response has for the most part been completely inadequate. With a few notable exceptions, governments have demonstrated what Amnesty has termed a “shocking failure of leadership”, building walls and fences and introducing policies to keep refugees out, rather than working to share responsibility for hosting and assisting refugees, and to address the root causes of the crisis.

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said:

“Where governments have failed, ordinary people have taken up the challenge to welcome and show support for refugees. We know that this is happening all over the country and it’s fantastic that musicians and music fans are adding their names with Give A Home for Human Rights.

“Music lifts our spirits, helps us think about things in new ways and it knows no borders. These concerts will bring people together to show solidarity with refugees and celebrate what unites us.”

Among the artists confirmed to play in the UK so far are: 

Band of Skulls, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Billy Bragg, Cosmo Sheldrake, Daughter, David Arnold and Michael Price, David Wrench (DJ Set), Eliza & The Bear, ESKA, Fenech Soler, Flyte (DJ Set), Frank Turner, Frightened Rabbit, Ghetts, Gorgon City, Gregory Porter, Hot Chip, Hudson Taylor, James Morrison, Jessie Ware, JP Cooper, Kate Tempest, Lewis Watson, Matthew Herbert (DJ Set), Morcheeba, Nadine Shah, Nigel Godrich (DJ Set), Nina Nesbitt, Nothing But Thieves, Reverend & The Makers

Rudimental, SK Shlomo, Suli Breaks, The Fratellis, The National, The Staves, Tokio Myers, Wild Beasts, Zero 7 (DJ Set)

Artists playing in other countries include: 

Above & Beyond, Adam Torres, Bad Suns, Barns Courtney, BROODS, D∆WN, Fossils, Freshlyground, Grouplove, Indian Ocean, The Jezabels, Jack Garratt, Julien Baker, Kiah Victoria, Kevin Ross, KT Tunstall, Lianne La Havas, Local Natives, Megan Washington, The Naked and Famous, Ngaiire, Oh Wonder, Paper Route, Parvaaz Ritviz, Phoebe Ryan, POLIÇA, Public Service Broadcasting, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Sampa the Great, Skrat, The Griswolds, Toothless, William Fitzsimmons

Music fans open their homes

Music fans in the UK and around the world will be opening up their homes – the locations of which will be secret until closer to the day of the gigs – to host the concerts. Each event will feature performances from two to three music artists, as well as talks from activists to highlight how ordinary people are addressing the refugee crisis.

The concert series is a collaboration between Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights organisation, and Sofar Sounds, a London-based company that specialises in arranging secret concerts in people’s homes all over the world. Sofar Sounds have previously hosted shows in venues ranging from back gardens in Cape Town and greenhouses in Tokyo to lofts in London, mansions in Mumbai, outback farms in Melbourne and converted schoolhouses in São Paulo.

Rafe Offer, co-CEO of Sofar Sounds, said:

“Give a Home aligns Amnesty International and Sofar’s vision of a global community united by the things that really matter, in the same way that Sofar unites thousands of people all around the world every day through a shared love of music.

“On 20 September, the global music community will come together like never before to celebrate a more hopeful narrative, one that champions and celebrates the fundamental equality and dignity of all human beings.” 

Fans will be able to apply for a chance to win tickets from today - World Refugee Day - via: sofarsounds.com/giveahome. From the site, people will be able to select their city and the event of their choice to be in with a chance of winning two tickets. They will have the option of making a donation to support Amnesty International when applying for tickets. 

Tackling the global refugee crisis

The refugee crisis affects the lives of more than 22.5 million people worldwide. Almost all are hosted outside the wealthiest nations, which simply aren’t doing their fair share to help. Currently just ten of the world’s 193 countries host more than half the world’s refugees.

Amnesty’s ‘I Welcome’ campaign calls for a better international response to the global refugee crisis by governments sharing responsibility for hosting and assisting refugees. The campaign also encourages local communities to work together to create a more welcoming environment for people fleeing conflict and persecution.

Partners VICE and Facebook Live will promote and live-stream the concerts globally.