Fiona Apple, TV on the Radio Top Standing Rock Benefit Concert
Fiona Apple, TV on the Radio and Sky Ferreira will perform at a concert benefiting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, set to take place at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles December 18th, Pitchfork reports.
“We Rock With Standing Rock” will also feature Devendra Banhart, Patricia Arquette, Benjamin Booker, Kimya Dawson, Moses Sumney, Holly Miranda, the Mynabirds’ Laura Burhenn, Riley Keough and others, including special guests. The current lineup is available to peruse on the Fonda Theatre website, where tickets will also be available starting December 9th.
All proceeds from the show will go to the Oceti Sakowin Camp (Seven Council Fires) Fund, Native Children’s Survival, the Seeding Sovereignty Project and GiveLove. After months of protests, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe scored a major victory Sunday when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would not grant an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline and would instead “explore alternate routes.” The original plan was for the DAPL to be built beneath Lake Oahe and the Missouri River, potentially threatening the tribe’s drinking water if a pipe were to burst.
Despite the halt in construction, the Standing Rock Sioux and water protectors will continue to face various challenges in the future. “The levels of deprivation, unconscionably low life expectancy, infant mortality, and the adolescent suicide rate all point to the continued need for us to stand in support of First Nations people,” said TV on the Radio‘s Kyp Malone, who helped organize the concert. “We need to keep the light shining on this. We won this battle but the war does go on.”
Numerous musicians lent their support to the Standing Rock Sioux throughout their months-long protest. British singer Kate Nash penned an open letter that was signed by an array of artists including members of Radiohead and Green Day, while Dave Matthews organized a benefit concert in Washington D.C. and Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Jason Mraz staged their own in Fort Yates, North Dakota. Vic Mensa and Neil Young both visited the Standing Rock site, with the latter penning a protest song, “Indian Givers,” that will appear on his new album, Peace Trail.