Global superstars/activists Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder have volunteered to headline this year's Global Citizen Festival, a free concert designed to raise awareness for a campaign to end extreme poverty, reports the Associated Press.

"We write a big list and we think ... who would also inspire a generation of people to take action?'" Hugh Evans, CEO of concert organizers Global Poverty Project, said. "We're fortunate that this year some extraordinary people put up their hands to perform for free."

Rockers Kings of Leon and John Mayer are also headlining this year.  

The festival will take place in NYC's Central Park, Sept. 28, designed to coincide with the annual UN General Assembly Meeting, also held in NYC (Sept. 24-29). Evans, 30, and his GPP crew have identified key areas of focus for their campaign: education, health, women's equality and developing global partnerships.

Though money is not needed for a ticket, to attend concert goers must also volunteer their time via relatively quick and simple tasks like earning points by signing petitions, sending letters to political leaders, or reposting information about those key areas on social media sites.

He said last year's show (headlined by The Black Keys and Foo Fighters) raised $1.3 billion in new fundraising pledges and inspired nearly 70,000 to act more than 700,000 times via the petitions and other links posted to their site.

As to why Alicia Keys and Wonder are the perfect fit for this year's show, one only need recall their longtime devotion to causes that are deeply impacted by poverty. Keys, for example, is co-founder of Keep a Child Alive, which delivers life-saving medicine and care to families suffering from AIDS in Africa and India.

Wonder also has helped to raise awareness for AIDS as well as a myriad of other causes, including diabetes, hunger and homelessness, and he has spearheaded a campaign to make Martin Luther King Day a national holiday and advocated to end apartheid in South Africa.

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(Photos: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Mark Davis/Getty Images for BET)