Freedom Needs a Soundtrack

Rangzen Productions
  • 5.0 (23)
  • Music History
  • Weekly Series

Thirty years ago, the Beastie Boys, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Björk, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, A Tribe Called Quest, and other major artists came together for nonviolence, freedom, and Tibet through the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. In this six-part audio documentary, concert co-founder Erin Potts tells how a small team of twenty-somethings helped build one of the largest concert series of the 1990s. With friends, artists, activists, and organizers who were part of the story, Erin looks back at how the concerts began, what they changed, and what their legacy offers today. This series is a Rangzen production produced by Adonde Media and distributed in partnership with KALW Public Media in San Francisco. To learn more about the concerts go to freedomneedsasoundtrack.com, and hear other podcasts distributed by KALW at kalw.org.

  1. Episode 1

    The Power of Music

    Before the Tibetan Freedom Concerts became one of the biggest shows of the 1990s, teenage Erin Potts dreamt of a concert for Tibet featuring her favorite band. Meanwhile, imprisoned Tibetan nun Nawang Sangdrol reveals what it meant to resist from inside Tibet. Their stories meet in the same place: the power of music. Note: This episode includes discussion of political imprisonment and torture, and a cuss word or two. In This Episode The Tibetan Freedom Concerts begin with a bold idea: a young activist, a musician, and a belief that music could move people to act. As a teenager, Erin discovers U2, Live Aid, and Amnesty International, and begins to see music as a force for justice. Through Amnesty, Erin learns about Tibetan nuns imprisoned for nonviolent protest and begins the path that will eventually lead her to co-found the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. Ngawang Sangdrol shares how she became a nun, was arrested as a teenager, and sang freedom songs with other nuns inside Drapchi Prison. The episode ends with the power of freedom songs, and the idea that movements need courage, action, and joy. Voices in This Episode In order of appearance:  Erin Potts — co-founder of the Tibetan Freedom Concerts and the Milarepa Fund, expert on music and activism, and executive producer of Freedom Needs a Soundtrack. Adam Yauch — Beastie Boys member and co-founder of the Milarepa Fund, heard through archival audio. Flea — Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist and performer at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, heard through archival audio. Thom Yorke — Radiohead singer and performer at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, heard through archival audio. Björk — Artist and performer at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, heard through archival audio. Tom Morello — Musician and activist, best known as the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.  Biz Markie — Artist and performer at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, heard through archival concert audio. Deyden Tethong — Tibetan activist, producer, and executive producer of Freedom Needs a Soundtrack. Dave Grohl / Foo Fighters — Artist and performers at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, heard through archival concert audio. Bono / U2 — Artist and performer heard through archival concert audio. Ngawang Sangdrol — Former Tibetan Buddhist nun and political prisoner, first imprisoned at age 13 for peacefully calling for Tibetan independence. While in prison, she and other nuns secretly recorded songs of freedom that helped carry Tibet’s struggle to the outside world. Learn More https://www.freedomneedsasoundtrack.com/  https://www.youtube.com/@freedomneedsasoundtrack https://www.facebook.com/FreedomNeedsASoundtrack https://www.instagram.com/freedomneedsasoundtrack This series is a Rangzen production produced by Adonde Media and distributed in partnership with KALW Public Media in San Francisco.

    32 min
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Thirty years ago, the Beastie Boys, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Björk, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, A Tribe Called Quest, and other major artists came together for nonviolence, freedom, and Tibet through the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. In this six-part audio documentary, concert co-founder Erin Potts tells how a small team of twenty-somethings helped build one of the largest concert series of the 1990s. With friends, artists, activists, and organizers who were part of the story, Erin looks back at how the concerts began, what they changed, and what their legacy offers today. This series is a Rangzen production produced by Adonde Media and distributed in partnership with KALW Public Media in San Francisco. To learn more about the concerts go to freedomneedsasoundtrack.com, and hear other podcasts distributed by KALW at kalw.org.

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