Pop Superstar Kesha Announced as Firefly Gala’s Headliner

On Saturday, March 30th, 2019, GRAMMY-nominated pop superstar, Kesha will headline Forty Carrots Family Center’s Firefly Gala. In its 9th year, the award-winning signature event is presented by the Dart Foundation, at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Sarasota. This event will feature a fabulous dinner, exciting live auction, intimate concert and after-concert dance party.

Ariane Dart, nine-time chairwoman and Firefly Gala creator (seen here with some of her committee members) excitedly commented “Every year the Firefly Gala excels itself with an exclusive featured artist performing at a high energy event that benefits Forty Carrots’ extensive community parenting education, mental health and early childhood learning programs provided through the agency’s 17 non-profit partner agencies in 30 locations in Sarasota and Manatee Counties.”

Previous Firefly Gala headliners include KC & The Sunshine Band, Blondie, The Go-Go’s, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Bret Michaels, Flo Rida and Jason Derulo.

Kesha’s latest No.1 album ‘Rainbow’, was called “an artistic feat” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best music of her career” by Rolling Stone and “her defiant, unbridled best” (USA Today), boasting collaborators ranging from Ben Folds to Eagles of Death Metal to Dolly Parton. The album has garnered praise from the New York Times, Billboard, NPR Music and more, and earned her first ever GRAMMY nominations at the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards for “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Pop Solo Performance” for “Praying”.

Kesha has had 9 Top 10 hits on The Billboard Hot 100, including four #1 singles at Top 40 Radio. She took home the MTV EMA for Best New Act in November 2010 and was nominated for 2 American Music Awards, 3 MTV VMA Awards, and 6 Billboard Awards.  She has performed on dozens of television programs all over the world, including MTV Europe Music Awards, Much Music Awards (Canada), Echo Awards (Germany), X Factor (Australia), American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, American Idol, Saturday Night Live, and The Today Show Summer Concert Series.

She has over 28 million Facebook followers, over 2 million Instagram followers, 3.74 million followers on Twitter, and over 1 billion views on VEVO. She has sold over 41 million tracks and streams in the U.S alone and over 87 million tracks and streams worldwide to date. As a songwriter she has penned her own music as well as songs for artists including Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, In 2016 she won Billboard’s Women in Music Trailblazer Award. She was named one of Time Magazine’s Time 100 in 2018, their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Recently she co-penned and recorded the song “Here Comes The Change” her rallying cry for social justice that is featured in the Participant Media film “On the Basis of Sex”.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Forty Carrots Family Center has provided children with Good Beginnings That Last a Lifetime through its expertise in parenting education, early childhood education and mental health services. Rated 4-Stars by Charity Navigator, Forty Carrots fundraises to provide these services to families from all walks of life.