Treasure Tour: Bicentenary Celebrations
The Treasure Tour is a song, music video, and concert series inspired by the Bicentenary (200 year anniversary) of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith. The song and music video share the path of six Baha’is in finding and embracing Baha’u’llah as the Divine Messenger for today. The tour aims to celebrate Baha’u’llah’s life, message, and Cause of oneness, peace, unity, and justice.
The #TreasureTour2017 came to an epic close the weekend of October 21-22, as the Treasure Crew performed at six local Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah celebrations across metropolitan Phoenix, and also released the official music video for Treasure! It was a doozy!
The festivities started off Friday evening in the Creighton neighborhood in central Phoenix, where a beautiful tapestry of souls came together to share in prayer, dance, song, and fellowship. Bill, Jose Maria, and myself shared a few songs toward the end of the program, including Treasure.
Later Friday evening, the Treasure Crew drove over to the Komatke Boys and Girls Club on the Gila Indian Reservation, just south of Laveen, Arizona, for the Hip Hop Hundred Hundred Birth of Baha’u’llah celebration. Hosted by our close friend Emiliano, aka Emcee Diversoul, the evening hip hop celebration included some engaging community building activities, discussion, prayer, freestyling, and performances by a collection of up-and-coming and veteran emcees, including Fresh Folk, Shining Soul, and the members of the Treasure Crew! The beats were bumping until midnight, and we finished the night in style with a performance of Treasure, including 5 members of our crew (the most we’ve been able to assemble for a live performance) – Bill, Kishan, DJ, Jose Maria, and myself. It was a rockin’ evening!
Saturday, we had the privilege of bringing our music to the East Valley, sharing our music at the Bicentenary celebrations of Chandler and Gilbert communities. We started off in the early evening at the Chandler Community Center. The program included prayers, a short video, and some beautiful story telling by our good friend Brandon. We closed out the event with a performance of Treasure and Youth Can Move the World. Everyone really enjoyed our performance, especially from Kishan, who is a member of the Chandler community.
Right after the Chandler program, we hustled over to the McQueen Activity Center in Gilbert. We arrived midway through the program, and after a heartfelt story of a local Baha’i sharing his journey of discovering Baha’u’llah, the Treasure Crew took the stage and shared our stories through the art form of rap. We again performed Treasure, along with Youth Can Move the World, much to the delight of the crowd. After the program, we were given much praise by several of the the lovely and joyous souls in attendance. Such a soul-filling experience!
We released the Treasure music video early Sunday morning, immediately creating a social media buzz. It’s so amazing being able to share media over the Internet and instantly receive comments and feedback from people all over the world! Early Sunday afternoon we headed to the Scottsdale Bicentenary celebration. There was a joyous and festive energy, with an outside DJ, bounce-house, food truck, and more! After a quick sound check, they called everyone into the main hall where we had the honor of sharing several songs with the audience. The crowd got really hyped for Change the World and Youth Can Move the World, both very participatory songs. We finished off the set with Treasure, and again received such encouraging words after the performance.
After grabbing a quick bite, we then headed to the Tempe community’s Bicentenary celebration for the final performance of the tour! We joined towards the end of their program, but got to witness a few stunning performances of song, dance, and a breathtaking violin and drum ensemble by our good friends Chandi and Eric. After the official program was complete, the audience was invited to join us outside for a brief 30 minute set of songs before the organizers screened the film “Light of the World” which highlights the life of Baha’u’llah. Once a sizeable group had joined us, we kicked things off, performing a few of our collaborative songs, and then finishing off the set with Treasure. The crowd brought some great energy! It was an awesome way to close things out!
On behalf of the Treasure Crew, we are all so thankful for the all the opportunities that were provided for us to share our music with the world! The #TreasureTour2017 has been off the hook! We pray Baha’u’llah was pleased with our efforts, and we’re all are excited to continue creating and sharing our music.
Our next gig will be November 25th at the Native American Baha’i Institute! If you’ve got any ideas for spaces where the Treasure Crew can come and perform, please hit us up!
Peace y’all,
Colby
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