Local urban marketing firm Socialwire, in partnership with area business/civic sponsors, will present SPREAD LOVEFEST '05; a free benefit concert featuring Atlanta's best kept R&B secret, Honey Brown, and Louisville's own singing sensation, Soul, on Friday, March 25, at The Spectrum, located at 911 South Brook Street.
"The Spread Love festival was started because there were a lot of things going on in respect to people getting killed in the community," says Director of Marketing Reginald L. Smith. "Some of these people were individuals I knew from marketing in the streets. Spread Love is more or less, from a camaraderie perspective, a way to bring the people of Louisville together without the violence."
The event will be hosted by Angie Moree, founder of non-profit global outreach Love for the Nations. The inclusion of Moree, who is nominated for a 2004 Kentucky State Governor's Award, was a "no brainer," says Smith, who learned about LFN in Today's Woman magazine.
"She's a sister that has vision - a powerful sister. She's definitely a visionary. When she got started, there were a lot of naysayers and people against her and what she was doing. What's incredible is that she sought out that advice and partnership on her own to make LFN grow into what it is in a relatively short amount of time."
"Louisville is where I live," says Moree, who will make her ninth mission trip to Haiti on March 11th. "It's where my children go to school. The work we do in Haiti is important, but I can't turn a blind eye to what's going on in my own backyard."
In addition to LFN, the festival will reinvest much of the proceeds into the community.
"I don't mind helping people overseas," says 25-year-old performer Soul who is best known locally as the all-time "Roc tha Mic" champ at Yuri's Bistro -- a sort of "Louisville Idol" series hosted by comedian Spike Davis.
"I'm all for that, but we got people over here that need jobs and need help too]."
Socialwire intends to fund the event with the help of those in positions of "power, influence and means in the community." The Spectrum's 483 balcony seats will be reserved for sponsors, while the more than 900 remaining seats will be free admission. Those interested in partnering with Socialwire for Spread Lovefest '05 should contact Reginald Smith directly at nu_market_entertainment@yahoo.com or by phone at 502.290.0270.
"It's not a 'black' thing; it's a 'people' thing," adds Smith. "My hope is that everyone will come out, have a great time and gain awareness via music. We want people to come and share with each other, shake hands, mix and mingle - just spread the love."
