UM spreads peace and love through music

“Free hugs and high-fives!” shouted senior Kemy Joseph while walking around the Rock approaching bystanders. Joseph seems to be all about having a positive attitude and he wants to share it.

For the second year in a row, Joseph, the special events chair of Hurricane Productions, has been the drive behind the University of Miami’s Peace and Love Concert. On Friday, HP and Random Acts of Kindness will co-sponsor a 12-hour “mini-festival” on the UC Patio that seems to be anything but small.

“We’re doing it as big as possible,” Joseph said.

More than 10 bands are currently in the lineup for the concert beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m. The dual-stage event will feature local Miami and UM talent, including Tristan & the Juice, Jahfe, Beckham County Trainwreck, ArtOfficial, Time Machine Executives and Mr. Awesome and the Grove, which happens to include Kemy Joseph himself.

And Joseph is Mr. Awesome indeed, having collected more than 11,000 articles of clothing for the U R Awesome Clothing Drive.

Additionally, the Peace and Love Concert will offer a variety of entertainment options, all free to students. For this, the HP team went all out. There will be face painting, henna tattoos, an art gallery, an oxygen bar, a drum circle and free food.

Zach Morillo, drummer for the popular local band Jahfe, described last year’s Peace and Love Concert as exciting and said that it had great energy. Last year’s event was expected to last only two hours but was so popular and well-received that it lasted twice as long.This year, the expectations are even higher and Morillo wants people to leave the concert with a sense of awareness.

“A lot of our songs are conscious as to find solutions to problems in the world,” Morillo said. “We want everyone to feel a part of a conscious movement” and to “spread awareness and solutions for the problems that the world faces.”

This is precisely what the Peace and Love Concert is all about. Its purpose is to bring people together, because as Joseph says, “spreading love brings peace.”

Carla Kerstens may be contacted at ckerstens@themiamihurricane.com.