Salesforce’s #MakeChangeSeries Kicks Off With Photographer/Director Danny Clinch During Sundance 2019

The #MakeChangeSeries—produced in partnership with FLOOD—kicked off on Friday night at the Salesforce Music Lodge in Park City with a conversation between KCRW personality Anne Litt and music photographer Danny Clinch. The three-day series of conversations and performances during the Sundance Film Festival 2019 will bring together artists dedicated to creating positive change through music, benefitting various philanthropic causes and non-profit organizations. The evening also celebrated the opening of Clinch’s pop-up gallery featuring artists dedicated to making social change, including classic images of the Beastie Boys, Neil Young, and Beyoncé, among others. 

Anne Litt, left, and Danny Clinch at the Salesforce Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Miles Mortensen/ Invision for The Music Lodge/AP Images)

Clinch spoke about his famous shooting style—which he describes as “honest, something more classic and not trendy. I’m trying to get to the soulfulness of the person”—plus his New Jersey–upbringing and getting hooked early on Bruce Springsteen, a performer he would later photograph. “When I want to raise money (for charities), I put in my Bruce Springsteen photo,” Danny laughed. 

They also spoke about his upcoming film A Tuba To Cuba—co-directed with T.G. Herrington—that documents Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s journey to Cuba as they retraced their New Orleans jazz roots.”My wife was born in Cuba. I’d wanted to go for the music culture. When we found out that Preservation Hall was playing the Havana Jazz Festival we said, ‘We got to make a movie about this journey.’”

At some point the very tall, very striking Michael Franti strolled in—another subject of Clinch’s. “I jammed with this guy—I pulled out my harmonica and we had a little jam,” Clinch shared of his time with the singer-songwriter.

Anne Litt (KCRW), from left, Cristina Mancini-Jones (Salesforce), Michael Franti, and Danny Clinch mingle at the Salesforce Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Miles Mortensen/ Invision for The Music Lodge/AP Images)

Proceeds from the sale of Clinch’s photos will be donated to The KANPE Foundation, an organization co-founded by Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne, that helps struggling Haitian families achieve financial autonomy, and the Preservation Hall Foundation. 

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of Make Change, featuring a performance by Arcade Fire’s Win Butler & Régine Chassagne, followed by a set from DJ Windows 98.

For more iconic Clinch photos on display at the Salesforce Music Lodge, peep the gallery below.