Watch Sufjan Stevens Perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” With the Patti Smith Band

Last night, Sufjan Stevens performed at Tibet House’s 30th annual benefit concert, which doubled as a celebration of Philip Glass’s 80th birthday. He joined the Patti Smith Band to perform his version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “My prayer is that we begin to move our hearts, our minds, our bodies in the direction of love, wisdom, and common sense,” he said, by way of introduction. “Until then, we’d like to sing a theme song for this present darkness.” Watch video below. Stevens also performed “Happy Birthday Song,” and joined Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Tibetan monks, and many more for “People Have the Power”—watch that here.

Also last night, Iggy Pop did “She’s Lost Control” and more with New Order, and Glass himself played with Alabama Shakes and Patti Smith.

Read Pitchfork’s feature “True Myth: A Conversation With Sufjan Stevens”

#sufjanstevens (who was introduced by the head of the @aclu_nationwide) magically made the star spangled banner haunting and hip.

A post shared by Lily Cushman (@lilycushman108) on Mar 16, 2017 at 10:17pm PDT

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