As natives of Charlottesville, Virginia, members of the Dave Matthews Band will host a benefit concert on Sept. 24 for those affected by the violent and hateful demonstrations that left three dead there in August.
Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Chris Stapleton, The Roots, the Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard and Cage the Elephant are slated to appear alongside “special guests.”
Billed as “an evening of music and unity,” the show directs supporters to make donations to a “Concert for Charlottesville Fund” organized by the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. Beneficiaries will include victims and their families, first responders and “organizations devoted to the promotion of healing, unity and justice in the Charlottesville community and nationally.”
The concert will be staged at the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium more than one month after a white supremacist rally, held in part to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, clashed with counter-protesters in the university’s home city on Aug. 12. The protests turned deadly when a man drove his car into a crowd, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. A Virginia State Police helicopter involved with the conflict also crashed nearby, killing two onboard.
In the weeks since Heyer’s death ― which prompted a nationwide discussion on Confederate symbolism and racism in America ― her mother, Susan Bro, has spoken out against hate, appearing at the MTV Video Music Awards late last month.
UVA partnered with Live Nation and local event organizer Starr Hill Presents to put on the benefit, which offers free tickets to the university’s students and faculty, along with local residents.
Ticket requests can be made online through Sept. 11.
Before You Go
