Animal Collective Release Live Albums to Fight North Carolina Anti-LGBTQ Law
Animal Collective have joined the ranks of Beyoncé, Father John Misty, Against Me!, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, and many others in raising money and awareness for LGBTQ rights in North Carolina in the wake of the state’s discriminatory HB2 bill. (Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Pearl Jam have all cancelled concerts in response to HB2.) The band is currently on tour behind their latest album, Painting With, and last night, they played the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina.
“We felt that canceling our show, like many others have done in protest of this law, would be a disappointment to our fans and decided to go on with the performance,” they said in a statement. “That being said, we don’t condone or agree with any type of bigotry or discrimination.”
Progress NC, a non-profit dedicated to fighting for progressive causes in the state, had a table set up at the Orange Peel last night. To raise more money and awareness for the issue, Animal Collective have released full audio of two recent concerts on their Bandcamp page, to benefit Progress NC. The live downloads, recorded in Los Angeles and Manchester, England, are available for pay-what-you-want download, with all proceeds going to Progress NC. Listen to both sets in full below, and scroll down for the band’s full statement.
Read “Op-Ed: North Carolina’s Transgender Fight Needs Musicians to Show Up,” as well as “Lavender Country Won’t Stand for North Carolina’s Transgender Bullying” on the Pitch.
Read our interview with Animal Collective.
Live at Fonda Theatre March 9, 2016 by Animal Collective
Live at The Ritz April 13, 2016 by Animal Collective
Here’s the band’s full statement:
Last night, Animal Collective performed at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC. For those who were at the show, you may have seen a table set up for Progress NC, who we were introduced to by NC Needs You (ncneedsyou.com). They (progressnc.org) are an organization “dedicated to being a voice for forward-thinking North Carolinians who want to protect the balanced approach to government”. Recently, North Carolina passed a law, known as HB2, that dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use and attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. We felt that canceling our show, like many others have done in protest of this law, would be a disappointment to our fans and decided to go on with the performance. That being said, we don’t condone or agree with any type of bigotry or discrimination.
This year, we’ve been recording and mixing some of our live shows. In an effort to raise awareness and help those fighting for equality, we are making two of our favorite recent shows available for download in a “pay what you want” model. To listen to/download shows from March 9, 2016 at The Fonda in Los Angeles, CA or April 13, 2016 at The Ritz in Manchester, UK please visit anmlcollectve.bandcamp.com and donate what you’d like to contribute to Progress NC. All proceeds from these downloads will go to that organization. Thanks!
Watch Animal Collective play “Monkey Riches” and “Brother Sport” at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011:
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