The Hope College Concert Series, in conjunction with the Critical Issues Symposium, will feature the band "Braddigan," on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
After eight years on the road with Chad Stokes and Pete Francis as "Dispatch," including three sold-out benefit shows at Madison Square Garden, Braddigan created his new band in 2007.
Braddigan began traveling to Central America in 2004. The pace of life and philosophies he encountered there inspired his debut solo recording, "Watchfires," which "Eastern Surf Magazine" described "as if one day Jack Johnson met Bob Dylan at Marley's house for a jam session." In 2006, Braddigan began to see another side of life in Central America. He took his first ride through the city trash dump in Nicaragua's capital city, Managua, where he was shocked at what he saw--people. With one foot in the U.S. touring with the trio and one foot getting to know a community of people who live in a trash dump in Nicaragua, Braddigan founded the non-profit organization Love, Light and Melody with the mission to understand and combat the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of extreme poverty in that community.
The new record from Braddigan, "The Captive," is Braddigan's first truly collaborative musical writing experience since Dispatch. The trio, Reinaldo from Puerto Rico and Tiago from Brazil, embraced not only their heritages (both Portuguese and Spanish are featured on the record) but also the musical stylings of the cultures they have visited.
Braddigan also produces the annual concert event Dia De Luz in Managua, Nicaragua's city trash dump, uniting an international family to celebrate life.
All ticket revenue from the concert will be used to support two Hope College international projects. One is continuing work to provide clean drinking water through the college's ongoing service project in the village of Nkuv, Cameroon, and the other is to build staff housing at a medical clinic, also in Africa.
Tickets for the performance are on sale at the ticket office in the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $10 for adults, and $5 for students, faculty, and staff. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
The ticket office is in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.
Additional information may be obtained online by visiting www.hope.edu/cis.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.