King Youngblood to Launch MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD & Vote Tour

Cameron Lavi-Jones, founding frontman of the Pacific Northwest based alt rock band King Youngblood, is on a mission to answer the question Billy Corgan posed on his podcast to Tom Morello, 'in a world on fire, where is the moral courage?' In 2018 he formed the project Make Your Voice Heard Loud & Vote, and now once again Lavi-Jones is determined to bring out the youth vote this critical election year.

Lavi-Jones - aka King Youngblood - will perform pop-up shows across 35 colleges in 35 days. Lavi-Jones tirelessly advocates for increased youth voter education, registration, and turnout for this coming midterm election. Lavi-Jones will travel with just a handful of acoustic guitars, a small PA, and a generator to plug and play on campuses across America. The tour will focus on purple states and states with low youth voter turnout.

Through a daily public journal, Lavi-Jones will capture the energy, art and courage of young voters to empower his Gen Z peers to challenge the apathy narrative. Explains Lavi-Jones, 'My generation is facing the challenges of a troubling political system where the powerful benefit from division within our communities, manufacture obstacles to voting participation, and hopelessness paralyzing tangible action. Every year, millions of young Americans from 18 to 29 go unregistered to vote and are excluded from the electoral process. In a typical midterm year, U.S. Census data shows fewer than 30% are registered to vote, compared with nearly 75% of those aged 45 and up.

This statistic is a cry for help, and I refuse to stand idle. King Youngblood has always existed at the intersection of art and activism. Our mission has been to remind people that we have the power to change the world around us, whatever our lane may be. I know firsthand how powerful music can be in bringing people together, and my hope is that by taking on this challenge, I can remind others that these statistics do not have to define our future.

Voting is not the be-all and end-all of political participation, but for many people it is their first step toward becoming politically aware, engaging with their neighbors in meaningful ways, and pushing back against the division that keeps us fighting one another instead of uplifting one another. My grandmother instilled in me the importance of voting, and I cannot sit in silence now given the crisis America faces as such a polarized country. This is not about left or right. It is about rich and poor. It is about standing up for what we believe in and making a difference because if not now, say when?'

An experienced public speaker before large crowds at PNW Indivisible No Kings & Hands Off Rallies, Lavi-Jones is determined to use his communication skills - honed at the University of Washington - to empower his peers to engage.

The real crisis in youth participation is not disillusionment in political systems and leaders alone; it's the blatant attacks on the fundamental right to vote. This reality is what prompted Lavi-Jones to pursue this grassroots strategy. Cameron Lavi-Jones shares, 'My Gen Z peers are not as apathetic as you might think. They are unevenly served. The 47% who vote in presidential elections demonstrate that the motivation exists. The question is whether democratic institutions — from state election systems to community association bylaws — will adapt to meet this generation where they are.'

The data is clear; lower barriers produce higher turnout, across every demographic, especially for the youth vote. Same-day registration, online voting, campus polling places, and extended voting periods all work. The states and communities that adopt these approaches get more a representative electorate. The ones that don't get governance by default; decisions made by whoever shows up. Adds Lavi-Jones, 'I am here to encourage America's youth by example – one song at a time - to show up plain and simple because it's cool to give a s.'

Make Yourself Heard Loud & Vote Tour Dates

10/7 - Dallas, Texas @ University of North Texas

10/8 - Austin, Texas @ University of Texas

10/9 - San Antonio, Texas @ University of Texas – San Antonio Downtown

10/10 - Houston, Texas @ Rice University

10/11 - New Orleans, LA @ Tulane University

10/13 - Nashville, TN @ Vanderbilt

10/14 - Atlanta, GA @ Georgia State University

10/15 - Charlotte, NC @ University of North Carolina – Charlotte

10/16 - Chapel Hill @ University of North Carolina

10/17 - Blacksburg, VA @ Virginia Tech

10/18 - Charlottesville, VA @ University of Virginia

10/19 - Washington, DC @ Georgetown University

10/20 - College Park, MD @ University of Maryland

10/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Temple University

10/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ University of Pittsburgh

10/23 - Cleveland, OH @ Kent State

10/24 - Ann Arbor, MI @ University of Michigan

10/26 - Minneapolis, MN @ University of Minnesota Fly

10/28 - Madison, WI @ University of Wisconsin

10/29 - Chicago, IL @ Northwestern University

11/3 - Spokane, WA @ Gonzaga University

11/4 - Seattle WA @ Seattle University

About Cameron Lavi-Jones aka King Youngblood

Lavi-Jones, the son of former Black Panther Maurice Jones Jr., is the founding band leader, lead singer guitarist visionary of the PNW based BIPOC Alt Rock Afro-Punk band King Youngblood. He is a prolific songwriter, performer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, sound engineer, graphic designer, film maker, actor, and social justice public speaker as well as a compassionate community builder. Lavi-Jones studied communications and graduated from the University of Washington where he focused on marginalized communities, BIPOC social justice issues, and the democratization of media. He has organized BIPOC musical teach-ins around the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the founders of a podcast called The Revolution Will Be Harmonized while the Capitol Hill area of Seattle was occupied by protestors during the Black Lives Matter Movements eruption. In 2018 he founded the Make Yourself Heard Loud & Vote campaign and traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest with his band performing and registering young voters. Lavi-Jones continues this important work to this day.

Photo Credit: Lara Lavi