Michael Stipe, Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell headline album to benefit legal group battling Trump
Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine, 'The Joke' singer Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are among the artists featured on a new album from a left-leaning legal organization that has gone head-to-head with the Trump administration in the courts.
Songs and spoken word pieces from the musicians will be included on 'Democracy Forward,' the group of the same name announced on Tuesday.
The double album from Democracy Forward and the literary magazine The Bitter Southerner will begin shipping at the end of the month and is poised to be released on vinyl in early July. Other artists performing as part of the compilation album include Tyler Childers, Brittany Howard, Wilco and John Prine.
'We believe in the importance of our democracy and also our ability to save it,' Stipe said in a spoken word recording featured on the album, according to the group.
'The world is depending on us. This fight is not over. The day is not done,' the REM lead singer said.
Last week, Democracy Forward represented a coalition of democracy groups in a lawsuit against the State Department that challenged an agreement struck by the Trump White House with the government of El Salvador to transport more than 200 migrants to a prison in the Central American country.
'At a time when so many communities across the nation are hurting and being targeted, music, art, and expression helps to bring people together in community, which creates the conditions for courage,' Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward's president and CEO, said in a statement about the album's release.
'We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have dedicated their music to support the American people's rights and our democracy during this consequential time. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice matters,' Perryman said.
All proceeds from the $46 musical project, which is available for pre-sale beginning this week, will benefit Democracy Forward's work, 'including the legal representation it provides free of charge for people and communities to defend their rights under the Constitution,' the organization said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
36 minutes ago
What to know about the US B-2 bombers heading to Guam
Multiple B-2 stealth bombers were headed to Guam Saturday, two sources familiar with their movements told ABC News. At this point, the bombers have no orders beyond that, according to the sources. The moves come as tensions between Iran and the West have escalated over its nuclear program and the Trump administration weighs its options. Trump has had numerous meetings with national security advisors this week and said in a statement that he would decide within " in two weeks." The president is slated to have another Situation Room meeting later Saturday evening. The bombers could stay at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam for some time, but the question is for how long. Moving these aircraft does not mean that a final decision has been made. In addition to the bombers, eight refueling tankers took off just before midnight on Friday in Oklahoma, flew over Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico before turning around and landing at the same base they took off, ABC News learned. Over the past week, speculation has grown as to whether the Trump administration would use the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator to target Iran's deep underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordrow. The B-2 is the only U.S. Air Force bomber capable of carrying the MOP on bombing missions, with each bomber can carry two bombs. Attention turned to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which is the home to all 19 of the B-2 bomber fleet, and whether they might be launched for a nonstop flight to Iran that would require multiple mid-air refuelings. Attention was also focused on the small British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean that would afford B-2 bombers a much shorter flight time to Iran. In April, six B-2 bombers were deployed to the island as part of the sustained air campaign that the Trump administration had launched against Houthi militants in Yemen because of their continued attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea region. The bombers carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, but their deployment was also a strategic message to Iran at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's ‘Two Weeks' Pause on Iran Strikes Comes With High Stakes
President Donald Trump often suggests that something will happen in 'two weeks' when he's looking to buy himself some time. But his latest two-weeks declaration — on possible US military strikes in Iran — comes with unusually high stakes. The pause, after days of bellicose rhetoric and social posts about evacuating Tehran, rattled markets in the region, triggered new threats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, led Iranian officials to call the US Israel's 'partner in crime' and left Israel in a holding pattern.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Coney Island Mermaid Parade makes a splash once again
The Coney Island Mermaid Parade made quite a splash once again. The 43rd annual event — the nation's largest art parade — welcomed revelers close from the Big Apple to around the world, many donning over-the-top aquatically-themed costumes for the tropical festivities. 'It's a great expression of people's creativity,' gushed Noella Owen, 53, of Brooklyn, who attended with her two children, aged 11 and 12. Advertisement The trio, who show up annually, hand made their marine-centric ensembles. 'My kids are dressed as krill and they wanted me to be a blue whale because of their fat jokes,' Owen said. 6 Many came to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade donning aquatically-themed costumes. Michael Nagle Advertisement The joyfully unconventional parade kicked off at 1 p.m. and the crowd quickly swelled to 30,000, which included marchers, spectators and those on the boardwalk, according to police. Caroline Northrop, 44, a public school teacher from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., also expressed her love for the unique 'celebration of creativity.' '[It] shows so many people are still creative even with AI everywhere, it's so refreshing,' said Northrop, who donned a 'woodland enchantress' outfit decorated with fake mice. 6 The joyful event dates back to 1983. Michael Nagle Advertisement 6 Victor Gonzales spent a month creating his outfit. Khristina Narizhnaya Victor Gonzales, 39, a civil engineer who lives in Queens, dressed as a lion fish, and said it took him one month to painstakingly create the costume. 'Because I have to sew, I have to do this structure. I have to design the makeup as well. Today, [it took to get dressed] probably about two and a half hours … I have to glue on the paper things,' he explained. Each year, a new King Neptune and Queen Mermaid are crowned — Ukrainian-American singer and Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hütz and Bed-Stuy based pornstar Queenie Sateen were awarded the day's honors. Advertisement 6 Eugene Hütz and Queenie Sateen were crowned King Neptune and Queen Mermaid. Michael Nagle 6 There were 30,000 at the festivities, according to police estimates. Michael Nagle Hütz, who has been living in New York since 1997, was not only finally able to attend this year, but take on the venerable title. 'Every year I hear about it and … some kind of a big splashy burlesque action … and I'm always on tour,' he said. 'And all these years go by like that, let's finally see it already, you know? And then this year, miraculously, we're touring in the later part of the summer, not earlier part of the summer. And I get a call, so it's like, you know, 10 out of 10.' 6 Paula Carlson dressed as a 'more modern mermaid.' Samantha Olander Paula Carlson, 47, of Bay Ridge, a retired emergency manager, dressed as a 'more modern mermaid' in homage to Hütz. 'I wanted to pay tribute, because it is Eugene [Hütz as King Neptune] and he's Ukrainian, to the Rusalka, which is the Ukrainian myth of the mermaid, and she brings water to all of the crops.'
