For good or for ill, Arizona’s controversial anti-illegal immigration bill Sb 1070 has gotten a lot of attention from musicians around the country—from the high-profile Chuck D and Rage Against The Machine to more modestly well-known/Paste cover stars like Conor Oberst and My Morning Jacket. Some artists are attempting to raise awareness by canceling tour dates within Arizona in boycott. In a recent letter to promoter Charlie Levy (in response to Levy’s open letter in The Arizona Republic), Oberst mentioned a similar bill in small-town Nebraska, his home state....
- 7/7/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst has written an open letter to a concert promoter in Arizona defending his decision to support a boycott of the state in protest of its controversial immigration laws. The singer is backing Rage Against the Machine rocker Zack De La Rocha's Sound Strike campaign, aimed at prompting touring acts to boycott Arizona until state officials agree to repeal the new law, which requires local authorities to determine a person's immigration status if he or she is suspected of being undocumented.
Local independent gig promoter Charlie Levy recently aired his concerns about the economic affects of the ban on businesses in the state in an article for The Arizona Republic, insisting the concert boycott is "harming the very people and places that foster free speech". He went on to say, "While I respect the intentions of the artists protesting what they find to be an unjust law,...
Local independent gig promoter Charlie Levy recently aired his concerns about the economic affects of the ban on businesses in the state in an article for The Arizona Republic, insisting the concert boycott is "harming the very people and places that foster free speech". He went on to say, "While I respect the intentions of the artists protesting what they find to be an unjust law,...
- 7/6/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Zack de la Rocha's The Sound Strike boycott of Arizona -- artists skipping the state in their tour itineraries in protest of the controversial immigration law -- has picked up more big-name acts like David Fincher collaborator Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails and masochistic Adam Levine and his Maroon 5. But at least one concert promoter in the Southwestern state has a problem with the protest, even though he opposes the legislation himself. Indie promoter Charlie Levy wrote an open letter last week urging artists to consider who they're really hurting with their boycott. "By not performing in Arizona,...
- 7/2/2010
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
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