NEWS
Toro Y Moi
Jack BoolToro y Moi pledged to donate all profits from his performance at Travis Scott's 2021 Astroworld Festival on Friday to the families of the eight victims who died.
The performer, also known as Chaz Bear, took to Instagram on Wednesday (Nov. 10) following his performance last weekend at Houston's Astroworld. Friday's event left eight festivalgoers -- ranging in ages from 14 to 27 -- dead and 300 more injured as a result of the crowd reportedly surging toward the stage during Scott's headlining set. Toro y Moi frequently collaborated with Scott on the rapper's early material, including "Chaz Interlude" from the 2013 mixtape Owl Pharaoh and "Flying High" from his 2015 debut studio album Rodeo. The 35-year-old artist's initial social media statement following the deadly festival was, "Team Toro is safe and sound. Sending love to Houston. Thanks for having us, we hope to be back soon! Be safe out there everyone."
In his latest Instagram post, he said he paired the solemn message with a picture of himself smiling "purely for algorithmic purposes only."
"I’d like to send my condolences to the families of those who were killed at AstroWorld last week. The loss of life at a concert is unbelievably sad and discouraging as an entertainer. It’s taken me a few days to process and understand what all has happened," Bear wrote. "To show support, my business/management teams, my band and crew and I are all donating our entire fees and any profit to the families of the victims from the event. Profiting from this event feels completely off and I’d like to encourage other performers to consider helping in someway as well."
He's the second artist who has publicly announced they were donating their performance earnings to the victims' families, after Roddy Ricch took the lead on Sunday, writing, "I'll be donating my net compensation to the families of this incident."
Other Astroworld performers who have offered up their condolences after the "mass casualty" event include Drake, who addressed the families by writing on Instagram, "I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can," as well as SZA, who tweeted, "I'm actually in shock n don't even know what to say .. just praying for everyone in Houston especially the families of those that lost their lives."
Bear added toward the end of this Wednesday post: "We have always promoted a positive, safe space for people to express and have fun. I promise to prioritize our fan’s safety throughout the show. All I ask all of my fans, venue staff and security is that if you ever see someone in distress or in need of any help at a show, please— help them out."
On Monday, Scott announced he would cover the funeral costs for all eight victims as well as partner with BetterHelp to provide free virtual one-on-one therapy for anyone needing it in the wake of the travesty.
Read Toro y Moi's message below.
NEWS
Rise Against have released a new single, ‘Nod’, their first new music since 2022.
The new track kicks off the punk band’s “inspired next chapter” and was produced by Catherine Marks. “I swear to God this can’t wait,” vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath sings at the top of the song’s chorus. “Not one more minute, one more day.”
“Nod is about the solace we find in community,” said McIlrath in a press release. “It’s about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone. This comfort can temper our anger and our frustration, at least temporarily.”
‘Nod’ follows the band’s 2021 album ‘Nowhere Generation’. It was followed by an EP titled ‘Nowhere Sessions’ which included live versions of songs from the album.
Tracks such as ‘Talking To Ourselves’, ‘Broken Dreams, Inc.’ and the LP’s titular single were re-imagined as live recordings, as well as a cut of their 2008 song ‘Savior’ and covers of Misfits‘ ‘Hybrid Moments’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s ‘Fortunate Son’.
Check out ‘Nod’ below:
the release of ‘Nod’ arrives just before Rise Against head out on a UK and European tour alongside L.S. Dunes and Sondaschule.
They’ll kick off the shows on January 28 in Dublin, before heading to Belfast on 29. Then, in February, they’ll head to Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Zurich and more, before wrapping up the tour in Vienna on February 22.
The tour also includes stops at London’s O2 Brixton Academy, Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse and Birmingham’s O2 Academy on February 6, 8 and 9 respectively. You can find a full list of dates further down. You can find tickets to the UK and Ireland dates here.
JANUARY
28 – 3Olympia – Dublin, Ireland
29 – Telegraph – Belfast, Northern Ireland
FEBRUARY
2 – L’Olympia – Paris, France
4 – O13 – Tillburg, Netherlands
5 – Forrest National – Brussels, Belgium
6 – O2 Brixton Academy – London, UK
8 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
9 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK
12 – Velodrom – Berlin, Germany
14 – Mitsubishi Electric Hall – Düsseldorf, Germany
15 – Sporthalle – Hamburg, Germany
17 – Zenith – Munich, Germany
18 – myticket Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt, Germany
21 – Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
22 –Stadthalle – Vienna, Austria
