The initial lineup has been announced for the Together for Palestine benefit concert at London’s Wembley Arena on September 17. Executive produced by Brian Eno, who announced it last week, the concert will feature performances from Damon Albarn, Jamie xx, King Krule, Sampha, PinkPantheress, James Blake, Hot Chip, Obongjayar, and more. The shows will include collaborations and performances of new material created for the event, according to a press release.
Completing the initial wave of artists are Greentea Peng, Mabel, Bastille, Abnan Joubran, Paloma Faith, Furaj Suleiman, Nai Barghouti, and Rachel Chinouriri. The announcement also lists “appearances,” described as “one-off contributions,” from PinkPantheress, Rina Sawayama, Riz Ahmed, and more to be announced. The entire ticket listed ticket price is being donated to Palestinian aid groups via Choose Love, a UK charity supporting local humanitarians in conflict zones. Tickets are on sale now.
Es Devlin, who is leading production design, said in the press release, “Palestinian painters are producing some of the most powerful, beautiful and resonant works I have witnessed. I feel honoured to collaborate with Malak Mattar and a group of seminal Palestinian visual artists on a stage that will express the rich beauty of Palestinian culture.”
Eno, who is organizing the event alongside Khaled Ziada, Khalid Abdalla, and Tracey Seaward, added, “In the face of the horrors of Gaza silence becomes complicity. Artists have always helped societies to point out injustice and imagine better futures. That’s why this concert matters. It’s time for us to come together—not just to raise our voices, but to reaffirm our shared humanity.”
And Albarn said: “I, like everyone with a heart, have felt despair and helplessness at the reports coming out of Gaza and the West Bank over these last days, months, and years. A genocide unfolding in real time on our screens. I come from a family of pacifists. I have been taught, and I believe, that pacifism is an action. Peace is an action. To live peacefully requires vision and commitment. To act with humanity towards one another, that too is a decision. Music has taken me around the world, it is the sum of everything I know and trust and believe in—respect, collaboration, shared experience. I am grateful for this opportunity to act in solidarity with the Palestinian people and also celebrate the music and culture from the region. I hope everyone will join us.”
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