TESTIFY
In the Washington Post piece “Its a Brave New World. Why is our Protest music stuck in the past” the writer laments, “This paralysis of imagination is the crisis of our century. It poisons everything from our politics to our pop culture. You can see it in every Hollywood franchise reboot, every MAGA hat, every episode of “Friends” on Netflix, every hour we spend online celebrating the 20th anniversary of everything we refuse to let go. Even Beyoncé, with all of her vision and political power, chose to spend her summer shoring up the immortality of a 25-year-old Disney franchise.”
This trend of
WACKO - Long Beach, Ca
W.ise A.nd C.razy K.ids O.verthrow
…The worlds natural resources will have reached critical endangerment and the the people will be hungry and look upon the worlds richest whose glutinous actions have led them to fatten up. in a world of no produce or protein our anger will lead us to a place of desperation and we will feed upon their bodies and retrieve back the spoils of our land.
LYRIC SAMPLE
I am the youth packing malice & strife
I am the hammer that strikes down the lies
We’re fucking heated you left us this life
Every move you made you really fucked us
Kimmortal - Vancouver, B.C.
Kimmortal is a queer filipinx second generation settler based on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples: the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam nations. Kimmortal has been making waves with their multifaceted approach to music. Incorporating song, visual art, rap, and frequently collaborating with poets and dancers, Kimmortal strives to make an impact with their live performances.
Soul Glo - Philadelphia, Pa
Philadelphia is a city ripe for a black and brown punk reclaiming. Entire movements have thrived for more than a decade dedicated to promoting art and music by marginalized people. Enter Soul Glo, a band etching dark, interpersonal screeds on ancient parchment cut from the skin of the rotting corpse of hardcore punk. Their music travels pedal-driven through lush, dense shoe-gaze forests, bursting out of the other side screaming. Lead singer Pierce Jordan’s voice is an unmatched wail that snakes through the band’s wiry punk orchestration as a truly exhaustive vessel for his trauma-informed lyrics.
Jeremiah Jae - Chicago, Il
His mother sang gospel and his father was a musical director for Miles Davis during the late, jazz-fusion period of Davis’s career. In addition to co-founding political hip-hop collective Young Black Preachers, he steadily developed his solo material, moving from self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s to moodier, more abstract sounds. From under a layer of gauzy, lo-fi production, Jae is able to conjure the off-kilter beats and ethereal voicing characteristic of a mature producer. When Jae brings social commentary into his work, the thoughtfulness with which he does it is unusual.
Redbait - St. Louis, Mo
RedBait did not come from a music scene, but instead from the ranks of St Louis activists and organizers. Under the current political and economic climate, the post-industrial regions of the Midwest are the battleground of progress and regress. The common musical influences from punk, metal, and hardcore may be front and center, but it is at the combined consciousness of community building, advocacy, and workers’ rights that one will find the heart of the group. Sure, RedBait can play your show, but they can also negotiate a union contract, set up a 501c3, introduce you to elected officials, cook for 100 people under budget, and change your mind.
1200 - Louisville, Kc
Jecorey "1200" Arthur is an award-winning educator, musician, and activist from the West End of Louisville, KY. He earned the nickname “1200” after teaching himself to produce hip hop on a KORG D-1200 studio at age 12. A decade later he became a classically trained musician, and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music Education at the University of Louisville. An innovator in the recording studio, he is making an even bigger difference as a leader in his West End community.
Downtown Boys - Providence, RI
A six-piece multiracial, gender-integrated, bilingual rock band from Providence, Rhode Island that plays fierce but joyous punk rock with blazing energy, howling saxophones, and breakneck rhythms guaranteed to start a pogo frenzy on the dancefloor. Eager to make music dedicated to social and political change, De Francesco and Ruiz formed the band Downtown Boys with fellow artists and activists..
