Photo of the Milarepa team, at the end of the DC concert, 1998 by Danny Clinch
Freedom Needs a Soundtrack is an audio documentary about how music and hope become action.
Through first-person stories, archival tape, and immersive sound, the six-episode series revisits the Tibetan Freedom Concerts on their 30th anniversary by tracing how Erin Potts, who co-founded them with Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys, and a small team of twenty-somethings helped build one of the largest concert series of the 1990s.
Through new interviews and archival tape, the series includes voices such as Adam Yauch, Biz Markie, Björk, Bono, Dave Grohl, Deyden Tethong, Erin Potts, Flea, Kurt Loder, Lhadon Tethong, Ngawang Sangdrol, Palden Gyatso, Sam Chapin, Thom Yorke, Tom Morello, Yoko Ono, and others. Together, they tell the story of how the concerts began, what they changed and what their legacy offers us in a moment when freedom and hope feel especially urgent.
Launching June 15th with new episodes dropping weekly. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Check out some sneak peaks and actions from our socials:
About the Concerts
The concerts began in San Francisco in June 1996, followed by events in New York and Washington, D.C., before expanding internationally in 1999 with shows in East Troy, Wisconsin, Amsterdam, Sydney, and Tokyo. They were among the largest music events of the 1990s, drawing more than 325,000 people and reaching millions more through T.V. and radio broadcasts and early online streaming. Performers included U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, R.E.M., Radiohead, Björk, The Fugees, Rage Against the Machine, John Lee Hooker, A Tribe Called Quest, Buddy Guy, Foo Fighters, and Beastie Boys, amongst many others, alongside Tibetan artists such as Chaksam-pa, Nawang Khechog, and Dadon.
Concert posters by Jim Evans (TAZ)
About Tibet
The Tibetan Freedom Concerts helped grow support for Tibet and the Tibetan people’s fight for freedom. Since 1959, Tibetans have resisted Chinese occupation at great cost. Their struggle continues to offer a powerful example of nonviolent resistance in an increasingly violent world. Read more about Tibet here.
Tibetan Uprising Day, March 10, 1992, Kathmandu. Photo by Erin Potts.
About Us
Erin Potts
Erin Potts is the co-founder of the Tibetan Freedom Concerts and the Milarepa Fund, and is one of the creators of Freedom Needs a Soundtrack. For more than thirty years, she has worked with artists, organizers, and audiences to turn moments of inspiration into action. She is widely recognized for her work at the intersection of music, activism, and impact storytelling, and for helping artists and organizations bring culture into movements to create change. Follow Erin on social here.
Deyden Tethong
Deyden Tethong understands the power of music. Born in exile in India and raised in the West, she saw millions become aware of Tibet through her work with the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. Since then, Deyden has brought artists, communities, and movements together in support of human rights and freedom in Tibet and around the world. In Season One, she invites listeners into that story, connecting the concerts to the ongoing courage and resistance of the Tibetan people today.
Freedom Needs a Soundtrack is a Rangzen, LLC Production. Our fiscal sponsor and story collection and archive partner is Shift Collective. Net proceeds from merchandise and related activities will benefit Students for a Free Tibet and Tibet Action Institute.
The audio documentary was produced by Adonde Media and distributed in partnership with KALW Public Media.