Yo La Tengo Offer To Play Your Backyard In Support of Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Presidential Bid: ‘Yo La Tengo Will Come To You’
Written by Gil Kaufman on August 14, 2024
The music world continues to line up in support of the presumptive democratic presidential ticket topped by Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The dynamic duo who have been barnstorming the country for the past two week since Harris swiftly swapped in to replace President Biden in their bid to deny former President Donald Trump a second term have been getting a boost from a series of music- and celebrity-oriented online fundraisers.
Over the past two weeks a series of cash-cow Zoom fundraisers by “Women for Harris,” a celebrity-studded “White dudes for Harris,” “Latino men for Harris,” “Comics for Harris,” “Cat ladies for Harris,” “VCs for Harris,” as well as Tuesday’s (August 13) “Deadheads for Harris” have raised tens of million; there is also an upcoming (August 27) Zoom organized by Swifties4Kamala.
Now Hoboken, N.J.’s finest, indie pop power trio Yo La Tengo, are making it personal. As in offering to play a private show at the location of your choice to raise funds for the democratic ticket that has injected a dose of joy and energy into a campaign that was seen by many as a grim choice between a struggling sitting president and a divisive former one.
“In 40 years of touring, Yo La Tengo have brought their music to a wide array of venues: clubs of all sizes, festival stages, minor league baseball stadiums, festival side-stages, an amusement park, the odd pavilion, and a zoo, as well as the occasional empty room, including once by design (see Hanukkah 2020),” the band wrote in a pitch to superfans.
“They have, however, performed only a small handful of ‘house shows.’ Until now!,” they added. “Yo La Tengo would like to announce their availability for a series of intimate acoustic concerts for individuals willing to make a sizable donation to the Harris / Walz U.S. presidential ticket.”
Proposals for the shows will be prioritized by the band based on the amount of the intended contribution, location and trio’s availability, with the bidder in charge of corralling an audience. No filming will be allowed at the shows, though non-performance photos are allowed.
“The other details are up to you, Mx. Big $pender,” they said. “Bring Georgia [Hubley, drums/vocals], Ira [Kaplan, vocals/guitar], and James [McNew, bass/vocals] to your backyard for a quiet get-together with your closest friends! Book them in your living room, basement, barn, or local VFW hall for an audience of people you’ve never met in your life! The logistics are (mostly) your problem, but if you’re willing to spend big to support the Democratic ticket in 2024, Yo La Tengo will come to you.”
Interested fans can fill out a form here, with the band noting that it would be helpful, but not mandatory, for the proposed events to line up with the group’s upcoming tour dates.
