Anais Gutierrez
‘The Dave Matthews Band’ took Twitter on Wednesday to announce they will host a benefit concert for Charlottesville. The concert donned “An Evening of Music and Unity” will join A-list artists to spread a message of love over hate.
This week was also announced that Beyoncé and other top celebrities will join forces to help Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in a telethon.
Charlottesville is fighting white supremacist with love
The Dave Matthews Band announced Wednesday that it will host “An Evening of Music and Unity” for Charlottesville on Sept. 24 at the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium to benefit victims and respond to the fallout of last month’s white supremacist rally in the city.
An August rally organized by white nationalists to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee became deadly when a counter-protester was killed by a car driven into a crowd.
Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, the Roots, Chris Stapleton, Ariana Grande, Brittany Howard and Cage the Elephant are among the announced participants so far.
While the concert is free, those attending were encouraged to make a donation to the Concert for Charlottesville Fund. that the band said will benefit victims of the August clashes, their families, first responders, and organizations that promote healing, unity, and justice locally and nationwide.
Beneficiaries of the fund, according to the band’s website, “will include victims of the events in Charlottesville on August 11 and 12, their families, first responders, and organizations devoted to the promotion of healing, unity, and justice locally and nationwide.”
The Dave Matthews band was formed in Charlottesville in 1991, and has deep and long-standing ties to the community. It was quick to respond to the violence that engulfed the city’s downtown Aug. 12.
“We are all disgusted by the acts of racist, hate-filled terrorism in our hometown this weekend,” the band wrote in a statement posted on its website that day.
“Hate speech disguised as free speech is cowardly and shameful. Such speech gives permission to the murderous crimes we witnessed today. There is nothing pure, acceptable, or philosophical about Nazism, or racism masked as heritage.”
Tickets for the Sept. 24 concert, which can be requested online but will be prioritized for Charlottesville residents, University of Virginia students, faculty and staff and residents of adjacent counties, according to the band’s statement. Online requests will be accepted until Sept. 11 at noon.
In response to the recent events in their hometown, DMB will host “A Concert for Charlottesville”: https://t.co/FPRDsvUjEX #Concert4Cville pic.twitter.com/7yDONeqjxX
— dave matthews band (@davematthewsbnd) September 6, 2017
Dave Matthews is no stranger to these type of events
It’s not the first time the Dave Matthews Band host a concert in support of victims.
Back in 2007, John Mayer and the Dave Matthews Band headlined a special concert at Virginia Tech on Sept. 6 to help the university and its students begin the new school year on a positive note following April 2007 tragedy there.
“We have a profound respect for the incredible resolve and unwavering sense of hope the university community has shown, and are honored to have the opportunity to share this evening with Virginia Tech,” Carter Beauford, drummer for Dave Matthews Band, said in a statement.
The Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg was the scene of horror and chaos on April 16, as student Seung-Hui Cho went on a rampage, killing 32 people and himself in the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
The concert was held at the university’s Lane Stadium.
Joining to help on Harvey’s relief efforts
News of “A Concert for Charlottesville” comes just a day after Bun B and Scooter Braun announced plans for their star-studded telethon, “Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief.” That event is set to air live on ABC, CBS, CMT, Fox and NBC on Sept. 12.
The Hurricane Harvey telethon was first hinted by Jamie Foxx and became a reality with Bun B and Scooter Braun announcement earlier this week.
Based in Los Angeles at the Universal Studios lot, the fundraiser will host stages in New York’s Times Square and Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, as well as feature a special performance from Texas native George Strait from his San Antonio benefit concert at Majestic Theatre.
The hour-long “Hand in Hand” will simulcast live on different networks, including ABC, CBS, CMT, Fox and NBC on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern it will replay on the West Coast at 8 p.m. Pacific.
International viewers will be able to Livestream special via Facebook and Twitter in conjunction with the East Coast broadcast.
The event will feature appearances, performances and taped tributes by a variety of the country’s biggest stars, including Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Oprah, Blake Shelton, Barbra Streisand, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon.
The fundraising effort comes after Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane, left a wide swath of flooding and devastation in its wake, with damages that could exceed $100 billion.
Donations will be accepted by phone, text and online beginning with the start of the Tuesday show and conclude an hour after the show’s end.
Source: Bustle
