Virginia musicians “rock against” Donald Trump in a three-part concert series

Photo by Taylor Hankins
Photo by  Taylor Hankins
Photo by Taylor Hankins

 In an intersection between politics and art, a VCU student brought together some Virginia talent in an attempt to prevent a certain celebrity from reaching the White House.

Inspired by previous movements such as “Rock Against Reagan” and “Rock Against Bush,” Tristan Taylor invited musicians from all across Virginia to play together for a common cause: keeping Donald Trump from becoming the next President of the United States.

“I put together ‘Rock Against Trump’ because I wanted to get my friends, and Richmond in general, more civilly engaged. A lot of college kids aren’t registered to vote,” Taylor said.

Of the 70 percent of Virginia’s population that is registered to vote, only 50 percent participated in the state’s 2014 elections as reported by the Virginia Department of Elections.

The first part of the event was a three-venue festival that started on Nov. 6. The first venue was at the DIY space (an empty indoor space to display independent art) called Our House. The following day music began at Circle Thrift, and then carried over to another DIY space called Nowhere House. Local acts that played included Headlessmantis, Ashes, Slump, Trial Rights and Caterpillar Trap. The second day of the festival was the same day Trump hosted “Saturday Night Live.”

Taylor said that he chose DIY spaces to get a better youth turnout, and working in these spaces also makes it easier for Taylor to deal with shifting musician line-ups.

One of the musicians who played in the festival was Sexton Alexandra of the Richmond band Tribal Rites.

Alexandra said that, to her, the point of being involved with Rock Against Trump is to try and reveal how Trump isn’t a candidate who should be taken seriously.

“He’s a pathetic excuse for a Republican candidate, so why not make it a ‘pathetic’ excuse to throw a show against him,” Alexandra said.

There was a raucous atmosphere at the shows, with spilled beer in the mosh pits to yelled profanities about Trump from the crowd. Actions like this were exactly what the promoters may have hoped for, as it seemed that participants came together in a space where they could exert their frustrations.

For this first festival, the profits were split up among the touring bands, venues and funds for the future, though Taylor says that the future profits will go towards funds that he believes work against Trump.

Taylor hopes to add other forms of expression such as slam poetry and art shows to the “Rock Against Trump” movement as it gains more notoriety. The second and third parts of Taylor’s event will tentatively take place in February and July of next year.

Article by:

Taylor KnightContributing Writer

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