Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, Nile Rodgers, Bootsy Collins, Sofi Tukker, Rufus Wainwright, Bush and many more have joined a coalition of musicians called Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence designed to inspire people to volunteer, donate and vote to end the epidemic of gun violence plaguing the United States.
The organization is launching with a series of live events, including a performance by Bush and special guests at New York’s Irving Plaza on September 22.
Led by musician Mark Barden, whose son was one of the 26 people murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, the organization also includes the Pixies, LP, Old Crow Medicine Show, Halestorm, Rozzi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town and more.
Presented by AFA (Artist For Artist), the first concert is designed to raise awareness for Artist For Action To Prevent Gun Violence and Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Tickets are currently on sale and available at Ticketmaster.
“After my son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I put my career as a professional guitarist on hold to devote myself to preventing gun violence,” Barden said. “Please join me and hundreds of other artists, musicians, actors, athletes, and people like you to finally end this senseless violence.”
“This needs to stop,” said Peter Gabriel. “So many needless deaths. So much suffering. It just needs a little common sense.”
Billie Eilish said, “As a community of Artists, we need to band together to make common sense change.”
The concert will be the first in a series of national events in New York City which will include a concert in December to celebrate the release of the film that directly led to the creation of Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence: A Father’s Promise, as well as one next summer at Central Park SummerStage around Gun Violence Awareness Month.
Directed by Rick Korn and executive produced by Sheryl Crow, the film is the story Barden, a professional musician whose life changed instantly when his son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary. He co-founded Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization that takes aims to end school shootings and gun violence by teaching the warning signs of violence and how to get help. The film will be released this December with another concert that will be part of the Artist For Action series.
“As a father, I am staggered by the gun violence in America, and as a musician, I am fortunate enough to be able to take a stand against it,” said Bush’s Gavin Rossdale.“This is a human rights crisis out of control. There have been more than 400 mass shootings in the US in 2023 – from stores to football games to parades to schools. Every person, especially children, deserves the right to be and feel safe.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 2023 is likely to be the deadliest year of gun violence on record, with the U.S. now averaging more than one mass shooting a day. Artist for Action’s mission is to prevent gun violence by forming a coalition of musicians to act and help reduce and eliminate the epidemic of gun violence in America. The platform, available here, makes it simple for artists to activate fans to get involved with gun violence prevention and other life-enriching grassroots organizations in their communities and take direct action.
