Wilco says its Indiana show is back on

By Marah Eakin  |  April 3, 2015 | 5:55pm
Aux Features Music

Wilco has rescheduled the Indiana show it cancelled earlier this week, calling recent legislative changes to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act “a good first step.” The band tweeted this morning that its May 7 show at The Murat in Indianapolis is back on, but said on Facebook that it’ll also “donate a portion of the proceeds from this show to organizations fighting to build on the progress we hope this change makes in Indiana and beyond.”

The move is in line with what a number of labels and musicians from Indiana have been lobbying for. In a statement released by Music For Indiana, labels like Secretly Canadian, Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, and Asthmatic Kitty said they feel that an “isolationist approach” like Wilco’s previous move could actually hurt the state. Collectively, Music For Indiana believes “cultural events can be a great opportunity to put a glaring spotlight on injustice,” and asks that bands still come to the state, but that they should “insist that the venue you play publicly states that they will not discriminate under any circumstances.”

Earlier this week, the Indiana legislature amended the RFRA, setting up limited protections for the state’s LGBT community. The battle’s clearly not over, though; a pizza place in Walkerton, Indiana that was forced to briefly close after it said it wouldn’t cater a gay wedding—not that any self-respecting couple would want that—has already raised almost $700,000 in donations from like-minded individuals.

 
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