Dave Matthews, Diplo, Bob Weir and others to play ‘Georgia Comes Alive’ concert to encourage voting

A virtual music festival featuring performances from Dave Matthews, Diplo, Big Freedia, Portgual. The Man, Warren Haynes, Ben Folds and a slew of other musicians is aiming to prompt Georgians to vote.

“Georgia Comes Alive,” set for 3 p.m. Dec. 26, is presented by Live for Live Music, nugs.net and Headcount and will support local grassroots organizations including Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and CivicGeorgia.

A donation of any amount on the georgiacomesalive.com site will prompt an email with a link to the livestream on the day of the show.

The goal of the event is to drive momentum for voting in the Georgia Senate runoff elections on Jan. 5. Early voting runs through Jan. 1.

Others among the 40 participating artsits include The Lame Ducks, a project featuring Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Dave Schools from Widespread Panic, Jeff Chimenti of Dead & Company and Jay Lane, of Wolf Bros. and Primus. The Blind Boys of Alabama, Musiq Soulchild, Patterson Hood, Tank and the Bangas and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will also perform (see the poster for complete lineup).

Kunj Shah, the founder of Live for Live Music, said he wanted to focus on the Georgia races following the historic voting in the presidential election in November.

“The stakes are incredibly high in the Georgia runoffs. The fate of the music industry, struggling small businesses around the country, and our democracy as a whole are at stake,” Shah said. “With Georgia Comes Alive, we hope to once again channel the power of music to support the grassroots organizations getting people to the polls in January and shine a national spotlight on the importance of participation in democracy.”