The U2 360 spaceship has landed in North America, and we’re off to a rockin’ start. Matt (who’ll be running the tour for most of the North American tour) met me in Chicago and we ran around town gathering T-shirts, wristbands, and our new tabling set up. Everything was in perfect order, including the weather. I’m told the odds of 4 September days of 72 degree sunny weather is an near impossibility in Chicago, but that’s what we got.

Our 30 volunteers were in good form, recruiting new members by the thousands. The biggest obsticale they ran into was that many of the fans were already ONE members. Not a bad problem to have!

I’m in Toronto now, and ready to get rolling on another two shows. I hope to see you at a show soon!

-Weldon Kennedy

As you know, Weldon Kennedy has been traveling with the U2 360 Tour through Europe, coordinating ONE volunteers and signing up thousands of ONE members at numerous concerts. He reflects on his time there:

It was a long summer touring around Europe with U2, but I’ve had a little rest and I’m ready to get back into action this weekend in Chicago. In just two months at 24 shows we signed up over 40,000 new ONE members, and fired up groups of ONE volunteers who are continuing to take action and organise in their communities.

One of the things that keeps me smiling up through the long days of the tour are the warm messages I receive from those volunteers all along the way. I asked a couple of them if I could share their sentiments, and I hope that you find them just as inspiring:

I wanted to volunteer for ONE for quite some time but I didn’t have a chance to before and thank you for giving me the opportunity. I’m still shaking from my head to my toes, it was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

My heart is so filled with pride and love and I’m sure u all feel the same. All of you made me happier and more optimistic than I’ve been in a very long time.

To be there, so speak and to be heard, to teach others…for the first time I had a feeling that I am actually really doing something.

And it felt good.

It felt good to know that I´m doing something worthwhile, and that even I can make a change.

It is hard to explain how this was important to me, but I think that you know it:-).

Giving me chance to work for a real and good thing is so precious. Giving me chance to do this during U2 concerts is just….like a dream.

America, I hope you’re ready to have a good time and sign up scores of new ONE members. Toss on your ONE shirts and let’s rock and roll.

-Weldon Kennedy

ONE is turning to its community of artists, friends, members and staff for their top picks on creative works that have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the richness of African culture and arts. Today we have a recommendation from Dave Matthews.

The first time I heard Abdullah Ibrahim I was in my late teens or early twenties. It stopped my heart. The nearest thing I heard to it was on some of Keith Jarrett’s solo work and upon hearing Ibrahim I was sure that Jarrett had studied him extensively. The first recording I heard was “African piano” and Ibrahim was aka “dollar brand”. You can hear the crowd loudly talking but it remains one of my favorite albums.

He has many recordings now. Two more that I have purchased again and again so I might pass them on are “Water From an Ancient Well” and “African Dawn”.

Learn more about Abdullah Ibrahim here.

-Dave Matthews

ONE is turning to its community of artists, friends, members and staff for their top picks on creative works that have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the richness of African culture and arts. Today we have a recommendation from Vusi Mahlasela.

I wanted to introduce you all to one of my favorite young bands hailing from South Africa. They picked up four SAMA (South African Music Awards) this year, including Album of the Year. They’ve been busy touring all over the world sharing their vibrant and fun sound.

Listen online at www.freshlyground.com.

-Vusi Mahlasela

I’ve been on the road for the last two weeks signing up new ONE members at music festivals in New Hampshire and upstate New York. First up was SoulFest in New Hampshire, where we got drenched for two days straight and I ruined two pairs of shoes in what became a giant mud pit. But it was definitely worth it for the more than 1,000 new ONE members we signed up. SoulFest wrapped up at midnight Saturday night and we immediately set out for Kingdom Bound in upstate New York, about an 8 hour drive away. We arrived early in the morning and set the booth, and I’ve never been more happy to see the ONE booth set-up on concrete as I was after the mud pit we just left (though when it wasn’t raining, NH was gorgeous). At Kingdom Bound, ONE signed up another 1,000+ new members. All in all, a great experience and I’m very happy to be back in ONE’s DC office (mud and bug-free!).

-Kimberly Cadena

Phew! The U2 360 Tour has been fun, exciting, and a ton of work. As you know I’ve been traveling with the tour from city to city signing up ONE Members, coordinating volunteers, sorting out logistics… and “Kissing the Future”.

After the tour’s launch in Barcelona, we headed to Milan, Italy where lots of volunteers turned out to help sign up concert-goers to become ONE Members. One really cool thing about the volunteers in Milan was that it really seemed to be a family affair, with parents showing up with kids in tow just to help out. It was great to see different generations coming together to work as ONE. Some of the youngsters were pretty shy at first, but I found the trick was to get them out of their parents’ shadows, and then they really started to get into the fun. As more and more concert-goers poured in, I found the inter-generational dynamic of the volunteers actually perfectly reflected the make-up of the crowd, with people of all ages coming to enjoy the music and—assuming we did our job right—learn a little about ONE.

After Milan we headed to Paris for a couple concerts at the Stade de France. Stade de France is that it’s not only the biggest stadiums I’ve ever been in, but one of the biggest structures I’ve ever stood in, period. It was absolutely huge. While an awesome sight, this also made coordinating ONE volunteers that much more difficult. Security was also an issue, not leaving us with much room to catch eager U2 fans as they made their way towards the stage. Fortunately on the second night we went TO the crowd waiting in lines outside the Stade and signed up hundreds of ONE Members.

From Paris we headed south to Nice, which ended up being a bit of a trick in terms of transporting all of our tabling kit. I ended up enlisting the aid of a crew of men in the middle of the night to help me push a cart of equipment back to my hotel, then hired a van with a faulty petro meter to drive down to Nice. But once I was there, it was amazing. Informally referred to as U2’s “second home town”, The crowd there really treated U2 as one of their own and the atmosphere was very warm, pun on the 34 C weather not intended. Just as the other stops along the tour, lots of music and lots of sign-ups.

From Nice we went to Berlin (which Carola was kind enough to write about here) and then to Amsterdam for another two concerts. There we set up kiosks inside the stadium as there was absolutely no space to set up our tents outside. Interestingly, the security there asked that we not sign people up to become “ONE Members” but asking that they sign a “petition” was perfectly okay. With a little finessing, everything worked out. I also followed the old rule “when in the Netherlands…” and hired a bicycle for my stay in Amsterdam. While I normally have to take taxis to freight my equipment from place to place, I managed to load most of it up my bike and cruise around on the beautiful bike path between my hotel and the stadium. It turned my otherwise stressful commute into a peaceful morning and evening ride.

All in all, a very successful tour so far, with over 16,000 sign ups by the end of Amsterdam. I’ll have more for you from on the road soon!

-Weldon Kennedy

MTV is streaming an exclusive online interview with artist and musician—and A-Lister—Youssou N’Dour. During the interview, N’Dour discusses Dambisa Moyo, Bono, Jeffrey Sachs, and a number of issues facing Africa today.

You can check out a clip here.

-Chris Scott

ONE is turning to its community of artists, friends, members and staff for their top picks on creative works that have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the richness of African culture and arts. Today we have a recommendation from Vusi Mahlasela:

Three years ago an inspired film crew came to my house in the Mamelodi township and filmed me performing “One Love,” “Stand by Me,” and a few of my originals.

Over the past few years, this same film crew has traveled all over the world- from the Mamelodi township, to Santa Monica, CA to Tel Aviv, to Barcelona, to Northern Ireland and back a few times filming musicians all around the world.

The result is Playing for Change, of which I’m proud to be a part. The beautiful videos and music that they have created show the power of music and the power to effect peace through music.

Music is a universal language that we can all understand. Visit www.playingforchange.com to find out about the amazing work they’re doing in South Africa and throughout the world and to see the beauty of what they have brought to the world.

-Vusi Mahlasela

On Friday ONE co-hosted a premiere screening of ‘Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love’ in Los Angeles with the film’s director and producer Chai Vasarhelyi.

It was a very enjoyable event with over 200 in attendance for the amazing documentary on ONE policy board member and Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour. It was great to view scenes of Youssou on Capitol Hill testifying about the importance of US assistance in the fight against malaria and on stage during Live 8.

Director Chai Vasarhelyi held a Q&A after the film. She shared her appreciation for ONE and told some great stories about the making of the film ad her travels through Africa.

ONE members in attendance gained great insight into Youssou’s life, faith, music, and his home country of Senegal. Some of the most captivating footage came as millions of Sufi Muslims of Western Africa traveled to Touba Senegal on pilgrimage.

All film goers received a cool ONE/Youssou t-shirt. Thanks to ONE volunteer Colleen for her help with our tabling efforts.

Check out http://www.ibringwhatilove.com/ to find out when the film will be showing in your home town. You won’t want to miss it.

-Matt Higginson

Tomorrow, July 3rd, ONE is proud to present “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love” a new film from one of Africa’s most celebrated musicians (and past A-Lister). The screening will be in West Hollywood, CA at 7:00 pm.

In his home country of Senegal, Youssou N’Dour is a powerful cultural icon and an important voice on social issues. Youssou is also a member of the ONE Policy Advisory Board, reflecting his deep commitment to the fight against poverty.

His new film I Bring What I Love is a music-infused cinematic journey about the power of one man’s voice to inspire change. The film chronicles N’Dour, a devout Sufi Muslim, as he releases a deeply personal and religious album called Egypt in the hope of promoting a more tolerant face of Islam. Director Chai Vasarhelyi follows N’Dour for over two years–filming in Africa, Europe, and America–to tell the story of how he faces these challenges and eventually wins over audiences both at home and abroad.

You can RSVP for the screening here. We hope to see you out!

-Kim Smith