Turnstile Is Reminding the World About What Punk Rock Represents
Updated: 3 hours ago
Music has always been more than entertainment. For decades, artists have used their platforms to challenge social norms, address political issues, and bring communities together with their own expression. The punk rock world, in particular, has been notorious for being outspoken about political injustices. Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile is living up to the genre’s historical origins by bringing attention to the humanitarian crises taking place in the Middle East.
On October 24, the band took over the National Mall in Washington D.C. with a free show to raise funds for the Human Concern International's relief efforts in Palestine, Sudan, and Lebanon. As reported by the Baltimore Banner, fans were lining up at 5 a.m. to be able to secure a spot for the event. An estimated 60,000 people gathered for the event. The band’s LaunchGood campaign currently has raised $285,600 and is still increasing at the time of publication.
With the current political climate in the United States, Turnstile’s decision to hold a benefit concert in the nation’s capital was a bold statement in itself.
You can’t get much more punk rock than performing roughly a mile from the White House and having frontman Brenden Yates saying “Loud enough for the White House to hear it: Free Palestine! Free Sudan! Free Lebanon!”
Turnstile is no stranger to using their platform to raise money for a good cause. According to Pitchfork, the band organized a benefit concert at Wyman Park Dell in their hometown in 2025. They teamed up with the Health Care for the Homeless, a non-profit providing health care and housing assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness. The band covered the production costs out of pocket, and the event raised $35,000 for the organization.
Why does a concert like this matter so much to the music industry? In recent years, fans have increasingly turned to social media to encourage their favorite musicians to speak about the political and humanitarian issues happening in the world. Some listeners want to see their artists putting actions behind their words that they are promoting in their lyrics. Several artists have used their platforms alongside Turnstile, including Olivia Rodrigo, Hayley Williams of Paramore, and Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon, to express support for Palestine.
However, speaking publicly about political issues has resulted in artists often being warned that taking a public stance could cause a loss of fans or hurt their reputation in the industry. In July, Metal Injection reported Sykes had been warned to not wave the Palestinian flag on stage during their performance at the 2025 Reading and Leeds festival. Sykes ignored this warning and chose to still wave the flag on stage. More recently, Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s The Loop tour. As reported by the AP, venues told promoters they would not allow the tour in their stadium due to the comments Macklemore made in support of Palestine.
Following his release from the tour, Macklemore took to his Instagram to announce his Free Palestine Tour, which took place in Dublin, Paris, and London. He announced the plan is to bring the tour to the U.S. but has run into some challenges. On November 6th via Instagram, Macklemore stated that, “By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table.” Macklemore named Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center, and Climate Pledge Arena as the venues that refused to host his tour dates. Rather than allowing the industry to pressure them into silence, artists such as Turnstile are continuing the tradition of punk rock by letting their voices be heard and standing up for what they believe is right.
A debate has sparked surrounding political expression in the music industry and other mainstream artists have made it clear politics does not belong at concerts. During one of Metallica’s Las Vegas shows this year, frontman James Hetfield told his audience he was not going to preach about politics and change their views. He put emphasis on the idea that music and concerts are forms of escape. While Hetfield did not name specific names, fans have speculated he is referring to Hayley Williams, who recently encouraged her fans to vote during the mid-term elections. However, Williams is far from the only musician who has used her platform to raise awareness. These comments have raised discourse among fans because Metallica has a catalog of songs that handle issues of war and injustice.
Artists are not obligated to speak on political issues during their performances. However, it becomes contradictory when an artist has built a career on addressing those issues, but does not believe those conversations have a place on the stage.
Turnstile’s concert has arguably raised the bar for what mainstream artists can accomplish with their platforms. Rather than simply releasing a public statement, the band organized an event that brought thousands of people together to raise funds. Their decision also raises a larger conversation about the influence musicians hold and how they choose to use it. Artists do have the right to address social and political views the way they see fit. However, Turnstile’s consistent approach shows that advocacy does not begin and end on social media. It can extend into taking specific actions and directly creating an impact on communities, all with a little help from punk rock.
