Joss Stone is playing her part to encourage Americans to vote today (Nov. 4) in the 2008 president election. "I keep having interviews about trying to encourage people to vote, and people ask, 'Why do you care, you're English'" Stone tells Billboard.com "That tells me that maybe America doesn't realize how much they affect the rest of the world."
Last night, Stone performed her politically driven new song "Governmentalist" as part of voter registration group HeadCount's sold-out concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York. The show also featured Phil Lesh, Robert Randolph, Warren Haynes, John Medeski, Disco Biscuit, ?uestlove and Stanton Moor, and was streamed live on iclips.net.
"Governmentalist," which Stone wrote in response to criticism she received from a U.K. government official after speaking against poor medical care of Iraq War veterans, will appear on the 21-year-old singer's forthcoming album. Stone says the as-yet-untitled set was written and recorded in about a week earlier this year in Devon, England, and hopes it will be released in April.
"I kind of woke up one morning and wanted to make an album," Stone says. "It's very, very raw. It's a bunch of musicians, writers and myself, and we're just jamming, basically."
Joss Stone performs onstage at HeadCount's Get out the Vote party in New York City
