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.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
