The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has announced ‘Together And Together Again’, a virtual concert to support victims of the recent mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
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The show is scheduled to take place at 8pm CST on Wednesday July 27, and will be livestreamed for free via the Pumpkins’ YouTube channel (save the link here). It’ll be hosted in person at Madame Zuzu’s, the Highland Park-based tea house and performance space that Corgan runs alongside his partner, Chloé Mendel.
Viewers will be able to make donations through the stream itself, while merchandise – including tees and a poster sporting artwork by the legendary Gary Baseman – is available via the event’s bespoke webstore. 100 per cent of the proceeds earned from both will be donated to the Highland Park Community Foundation.
In a video announcing ‘Together And Together Again’, Corgan noted that he’s lived in Highland Park for “about 20 years”. He launched Madame Zuzu’s there in 2011, and as Rolling Stone pointed out, the venue is so close to where the shooting happened that it was closed for a week to accomodate the FBI’s investigation.
Have a look at the gig’s announcement video below:
TOGETHER and TOGETHER AGAIN, July 27 at 8 CST, a benefit for the Highland Park Community Foundation directed to its July 4th Victims Response Fund. Join us for a special virtual concert on Youtube https://t.co/QUSgpeRmxj pic.twitter.com/jz0inbEvTk
— William Patrick Corgan (@Billy) July 15, 2022
In addition to a performance from Corgan, ‘Together And Together Again’ will feature appearances from Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, jazz saxophonist Frank Catalano, and a litany of other, as-yet-unannounced special guests – including, as it was noted in the aforementioned video, “other parts of the Pumpkins family”.
“There are so many people here affected by this tragedy,” Corgan and Mendel said in the video. “It’s very close to our hearts, and we hope you’ll participate and support as well.”
The mass shooting in Highland Park happened on Monday July 4, when, during an Independence Day parade in the city six people were shot dead by a rooftop gunman. According to officials, the attacker targeted attendees of the parade at random, and was armed with a high-powered rifle. In addition to the six fatalities, it’s said that 24 people were taken to hospital.
Police later identified a 22-year-old man named Robert “Bobby” E Crimo III – who has a small cult following as a musician under the alias Awake The Rapper – as a “person of interest”. In one song that he released last year, Crimo fantasises about engaging in a mass shooting and being killed by police.
Corgan is among a handful of musicians vouching their support for the shooting’s victims; last week, Fall Out Boy responded to the attack by pledging a donation of $100,000 (£83,000) to Everytown, a non-profit organisation that advocates for gun control and protests against gun violence.
Meanwhile, the Pumpkins are currently gearing up to embark on their North American ‘Spirits On Fire’ tour. Supported by Jane’s Addiction, Poppy and Meg Myers, the run will span 32 shows across October and November. It comes ahead of the band’s as-yet-untitled 12th album, which guitarist Jeff Schroeder had been completed in April.
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