FEVER PITCH

FEVER 333 HAVE

always called their gigs ‘demonstrations’, but this one felt more vital than ever. On June 3, nine days after George Floyd was killed by police, the band livestreamed a show in a “concentrated effort to encourage people to go beyond awareness and take action”.

Playing against a striking backdrop that showed images of protests and the US flag, frontman Jason Aalon Butler – who’s spent his whole career shining a light on racism and social injustice – told the music industry in no uncertain terms that they had to do better, and held a moment of silence as the names of those lost to racist violence filled the walls: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless more.

People were encouraged to donate to Black Lives Matter and the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and to educate themselves. “In your silence, you are complicit!” screamed Jason at the end. “Show up for black people!”