Concerts for a Cause: Protests and Activism Through Festivals and Live Music
- Emma Zoe Polyak
- Mar 19, 2024
- 6 min read
Concerts and festivals are a great place for music lovers to congregate and have the time of their lives. Many of my fondest memories are of concerts, and I can attest to the notion that concerts (and music in general!) can help boost our moods. However, the communities built by live music are often more than just an opportunity for people to come together to sing and dance to the same songs. They can be moments of solidarity and protest for different movements – a chance for artists and fans to organize and promote causes that they deem worthy. In this article, I want to look back at some early examples of live music being used to make a statement, explore a relevant example today, and look at future concerts and festivals that you can attend if you agree with their missions!
Looking Back:
There have been many notable examples of benefit, or charity, concerts. These concerts are held for charitable purposes and are often directed at specific and current humanitarian crises. Out of these past events, a few were particularly influential in our understanding of benefit concerts today.
In August 1969, about half a million people came together to watch 32 performers on a dairy farm in Bethel, NY. While not a benefit charity, Woodstock is one of the most iconic examples of the harmony (pun intended) between social movement and live music. Woodstock has now become synonymous with rock, drugs, and hippies, but in reality, it was a culmination of the unrest in American youth during the 1960s. The 1960s had civil rights movements, conflicting opinions on the Vietnam War, and several high-profile assassinations. It was a time of conflicting values and beliefs, which translated into social unrest and movements.
The driving force of Woodstock’s political message primarily came from the artists who played. The most famous, and perhaps the most impactful, was Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the national anthem. Another memorable performance was by Joan Baez, who played songs about America’s changing social structures. If you’re interested in reading more about the political elements of Woodstock, here is a great essay further exploring the topic.
The Concert for Bangladesh took place in Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971, and was made up of two shows performed on the same day. It was organized by George Harrison (best known as the Beatles guitarist) and Ravi Shankar (an Indian sitar player). This concert is generally considered to be the first benefit concert, as it was organized with the intention of raising funds for refugees from East Pakistan. In addition, the concert raised awareness about the genocide that occurred in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
About 40,000 people attended the two shows, and almost $250,000 was raised for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. A live album and documentary were released after the concerts, which generated even more aid. This concert inspired future benefit concerts, such as Live Aid.
Live Aid was also a pioneer of its type. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, two concerts took place simultaneously across the world, in London, England, and Philadelphia, USA. Similar concerts inspired by the movement were also held around the world in places like Australia, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Canada.
Geldof and Ure organized the concerts after the success of the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in December 1984. These projects were created to provide aid for the Ethiopian famine from 1983–1985, in which about a million people lost their lives, and even more were displaced. There have been numerous debates about the concrete impact Live Aid actually had on the people suffering in Ethiopia, but it is undeniable that it was a monumental event in music history. If nothing else, it brought awareness to the famine and influenced many future benefit concerts.
What’s Going on Now?
There are still plenty of humanitarian crises occurring throughout the world today, and many concerts and festivals donate their revenue to charity organizations. However, before listing some of these festivals that occur yearly, I want to turn attention to a festival that is currently in the news due to artists refusing to perform.
Over the past few days, my social media feed has been filled with statements from different artists saying that they will no longer play at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas this year. These statements have been in response to the news that the US Army was listed as a festival “Featured Partner”. The Austin for Palestine Coalition posted an infographic on Instagram detailing these facts, and called on the festival to “disinvite Raytheon (RTX), its subsidiary Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems to the conference and festivals in the city of Austin,” stating that “Raytheon, Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems have direct ties to the arming of Israel, supporting their violent oppression of the Palestinian people.”
A screenshot of Kneecap’s statement alongside a photo I took at their recent concert in Philadelphia, showcasing their continued solidarity with Palestine
Kneecap was the first band I saw to pull out, vocalizing their support for Palestine in their statement posted on Instagram. Since then, all fellow Irish bands have canceled their official SXSW performances. Other artists including Gel, Lambrini Girls, Rachel Chinouriri, Shalom, and Squirrel Flower have also canceled their official sets at SXSW.
SXSW has since released a statement on social media (both in response to bands pulling out and Texas Governor Greg Abbott) saying that they respect the decision of artists and value their diverse viewpoints and right to free speech.
The action of these artists canceling their shows – and vocalizing their solidarity with Palestine in the process – is a good reminder that it is important to attend festivals that align with our values. Concerts and festivals, like music in general, shouldn’t be detached from our values, and we should pay attention to the events we participate in.
Looking to the Future
Here is a brief list of some festivals that are either organized by different humanitarian projects or donate their revenue to such organizations.
Global Citizens has a variety of ways that they encourage people to take action, many of which “reward” participants with entries into a drawing for concert tickets – this is how I ended up attending Global Citizens in 2022! Actions that people can take include signing petitions, retweeting messages, and educating themselves on climate change, poverty, and inequality – Global Citizen’s three main focuses. You can learn more about their impact here.
It is worth it to note that Global Citizens came under major scrutiny after their festival last year when they destroyed a third of Central Park. A combination of heavy rain, heavy equipment, and heavy foot traffic on the lawn caused damage that shut down the park for months. Many people called out the irony of an organization claiming to save the planet yet causing such damage to a park. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Global Citizen makes this year, and even whether there will be a festival this year.
Tortuga Festival is a 3-day event held in Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, Florida. Tortuga Festival’s main mission is to raise awareness for marine conservation, and they work with Rock The Ocean Foundation to support ocean research, education, and conservation efforts. According to their site, over 4 million dollars have been raised directly from ticket sales and donations at the festival.
Tortuga has also implemented sustainable policies at the festival such as banning plastic water bottles (the first major music festival to do so), banning single-use plastic (including straws, cutlery, cups, etc., and creating food & beverage guidelines that require food vendors to only serve antibiotic-free meats; responsibly and sustainably-sourced seafood; and locally-grown and organic foods whenever possible.
Roskilde Festival is a European music and art festival held in Denmark that dates back to 1971. Originally started by two high schoolers, the first festival was highly inspired by Woodstock. It is now organized by Roskilde Festival Charity Society, which supports initiatives that focus on bettering the lives of children and young adults. In addition, the festival is 100% non-profit, and states that they donate everything to charity after the festival – something they’ve done since 1972. As a result, they have raised about 429 million Danish Krone (about 63 million USD) which has gone to organizations such as Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Support the Victims in Iraq, and Save the Children.
These are just some examples of festivals that strive to create some change through music, and there are many more out there to support!
