“As much as I love the United States, I am always appalled at the ease with which anyone can get a weapon,” says Peter Gabriel in a new video from Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence, the coalition of musicians — also including Billie Eilish, Sheryl Crow, Nile Rodgers, Bootsy Collins, Sofi Tukker, Rufus Wainwright, Bush and many more — designed to inspire people to volunteer, donate and vote to end the epidemic of gun violence plaguing the United States.
The video arrives in a week of gun control activism in the music community: Migos rapper Quavo, whose nephew and bandmate Takeoff was shot to death as an innocent bystander during an argument outside a Houston bowling alley last year, met with Vice PresidentKamala Harris at the White House on Wednesday, spoke on a panel about combating the issue during the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference in Washington, and appeared on “Good Morning America” Thursday morning talking about gun violence in the U.S.
Led by musician Mark Barden, whose son was one of the 26 people murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, Artist for Action also includes the Pixies, LP, Old Crow Medicine Show, Halestorm, Rozzi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town and more.
Forthcoming events include a concert in December to celebrate the release of the film that directly led to the creation of Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence: “A Father’s Promise,” as well as one next summer at Central Park SummerStage around Gun Violence Awareness Month.