Emmylou Harris to headline US refugee support tour

Folk rock great Emmylou Harris will headline a tour of Americana artists to raise support for refugees as a record number of people flee their homes around the world.

The 11-date North American tour was announced Tuesday by the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, a group affiliated with the Roman Catholic order that plans to use proceeds to fund education for refugees worldwide.

The tour -- dubbed "Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees," after the Italian island that has been a major entrance point to Europe for migrants -- will open on October 6 in Boulder, Colorado and culminate on October 21 in Washington.

Harris, a 13-time Grammy winner who has long been active in humanitarian work, said she was inspired after visiting Ethiopia with the Jesuit Refugee Service.

"The better angels of our nature call upon us to act with compassion and not with fear in the face of so much suffering," she said in a statement.

Other acts on the tour will be the country rock guitarist Steve Earle, singers Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller and duo The Milk Carton Kids.

The Jesuit Refugee Service said it hopes to double the number of refugees it serves to 240,000 by 2020, believing that education is the best path to ensuring livelihoods.

The Syrian civil war, which has killed more than 290,000 people since 2011, has triggered a massive flow of migrants. 

More than 65 million people around the world have been displaced from their homes, a figure unprecedented in modern history, according to the UN refugee agency.