EMELI SANDE, JP COOPER, JAKE BUGG, JORJA SMITH, NADIA ROSE, MAVERICK SABRE & MORE JOIN THE LINEUP

1,000 musicians to perform on 20 September for Amnesty and Sofar Sounds’ global refugee solidarity concerts

Today, Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds announce that Amnesty Ambassador Reggie Yates, Maya Jama, Gemma Cairney and Joel Dommett will all compère shows for the upcoming Give a Home For Human Rights concert series, which is helping to tackle the global refugee crisis. Reggie Yates will host Jessie Ware, Maya Jama will host Rudimental, Gemma Cairney will host Gregory Porter and Joel Dommett will host Hot Chip. Emeli Sande, JP Cooper, Jake Bugg Jorja Smith, Maverick Sabre, We The Kings and The Big Moon are among the artists who have recently been added to the lineup.  

Reggie Yates says of Give a Home: “As an Amnesty Ambassador, I’m hugely honoured to be a part of such an incredible movement. I was inspired to work alongside Amnesty International on a photo project symbolising the welcome of refugees in the UK, which you’ll be able to check out at the show.”

On hosting Rudimental, Maya Jama says: “It’s so important that we show solidarity with refugees all over the world right now, so I’m really excited to be a part of Give a Home For Human Rights. Plus I’ve always loved Rudimental!”

On hosting Gregory Porter, Gemma Cairney says: “As a society we need to take the refugee crisis personally and realise that we all have a responsibility to help, rather than keeping those in need at arm’s length. That’s why I’m a part of Give a Home For Human Rights.Their message is vital”

On Give a Home, Joel Dommett says: “I’m so proud to do my bit for Give a Home For Human Rights to shed light on the really important work Amnesty are doing, and how powerful Sofar’s method of bringing people together through music can be.”

Jessie Ware, Rudimental, Hot Chip and Gregory Porter are just four of the acts completing an incredible line-up of award-winning artists including Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Laura Mvula, Hozier and many more. The intimate concerts will take place in various people’s homes around the world on 20 September.

The list of new artists also added to the bill includes: JP Cooper, Jake Bugg Jorja Smith, Maverick Sabre, The Big Moon, Crystal Castles, Kwabs, Nadia Rose, Aston Merrygold, Will Joseph Cook, Badly Drawn Boy and Al, The Native (Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks.)

Further artists confirmed to perform in London include Daughter, Kate Tempest, Tom Chaplin, Ghetts and Nick Mulvey with the likes of The National and Nadine Shah also playing in the UK. The full list of gigs is available on sofarsounds.com/giveahome, where fans have until 10th September to apply for tickets for the shows taking place in their city and make a donation to Amnesty International’s work to protect human rights around the world.

Give a Home For Human Rights will see 1,000 musicians in total playing in 300 shows in people’s homes in more than 60 countries worldwide. The concert series brings together some of the world’s most recognised musicians, refugee artists and activists with refugees and local communities, and the money raised will support Amnesty’s work to protect human rights around the world.

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.

The latest artists added to the global line-up are (A-Z): Alain Clark, Amber Coffman, Archive, Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles, Blaenavon, Bokanté, BØRNS, Brett Dennen, Esperanza Spalding, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, HAERTS, Hozier, Imelda May, Jakubi, Jesse & Joy, Joan As Police Woman, Jon Hopkins w/ Leo Abrahams, Juana Molina, Julia Holter, Kamau, Kate Miller-Heidke, Laura Mvula, Ledisi, Lisa Hannigan, Ludovico Einaudi, Majozi, Marika Hackman, Mashrou’ Leila, Moby, Molly Kate, Kestner, Nick Mulvey, Nick Waterhouse, Peggy Seeger, Ryan Cabrera, Seratones, Shamir, Sivu, Stonefield, The Hoosiers, The Mowgli's, Time For Three, To Kill A King, Tom Odell and We Were Promised Jetpacks.

Give a Home For Human Rights

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 around the world. Sofar Sounds have previously hosted shows in venues ranging from back gardens in Cape Town to greenhouses in Tokyo.

Ticket availability

Applications for tickets are open until September 10 through sofarsounds.com/giveahome. People can select the city and event of their choice to be in with a chance of winning two tickets. They will have the option of making a donation when applying for tickets. The funds raised by the project will support Amnesty’s work to protect human rights around the world.

Give a Home For Human Rights is supported by VICE, Shazam and Facebook Live, which will be live-streaming and promoting the concerts globally.

Tackling the global refugee crisis and ‘I Welcome’

The refugee crisis affects the lives of more than 22 million people worldwide. Almost all are hosted outside the wealthiest nations, and currently just ten of the world’s 193 countries host more than half its refugees.

Give a Home For Human Rights is part of Amnesty’s ‘I Welcome’ campaign, which calls for a better international response to the global refugee crisis through governments sharing responsibility for hosting and assisting refugees.The campaign also aims to build grassroots solidarity with refugees, and create more welcoming communities across the UK for those fleeing conflict and persecution.

Amnesty’s research shows that four in five people around the world are open to welcoming refugees.

Sofar Sounds

Sofar Sounds is a global, grassroots network of artists, hosts and guests, all with the goal of helping to bring the magic back to live music. We curate secret, intimate gigs in unique spaces, from living rooms and churches to hoodie shops and fancy furniture showrooms. We aim to create performance spaces that are respectful to artists, where the audience lives in the moment and listens closely to the music.

We started as a hobby in London back in 2009, became a business a few years ago, and have grown into a global community of music lovers, supporting thousands of artists around the world, putting on hundreds of gigs every month across hundreds of cities.

I Welcome

Photographs by Reggie Yates

The photo project tells the human story of refugees and their experience of communities welcoming them to the UK.  The refugee families have fled from Congo, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria. It highlights the story of real people and what it means for them to have a home, even if it is not in their homeland.