Michael Stipe, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell headline album to benefit group battling Trump
Share and Follow


Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine, “The Joke” singer Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are among the artists featured on a new album from a left-leaning legal organization that has gone head-to-head with the Trump administration in the courts.

Songs and spoken word pieces from the musicians will be included on “Democracy Forward,” the group of the same name announced on Tuesday.

The double album from Democracy Forward and the literary magazine The Bitter Southerner will begin shipping at the end of the month and is poised to be released on vinyl in early July. Other artists performing as part of the compilation album include Tyler Childers, Brittany Howard, Wilco and John Prine.

“We believe in the importance of our democracy and also our ability to save it,” Stipe said in a spoken word recording featured on the album, according to the group. 

“The world is depending on us. This fight is not over. The day is not done,” the REM lead singer said. 

Last week, Democracy Forward represented a coalition of democracy groups in a lawsuit against the State Department that challenged an agreement struck by the Trump White House with the government of El Salvador to transport more than 200 migrants to a prison in the Central American country.

“At a time when so many communities across the nation are hurting and being targeted, music, art, and expression helps to bring people together in community, which creates the conditions for courage,” Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s president and CEO, said in a statement about the album’s release.

“We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have dedicated their music to support the American people’s rights and our democracy during this consequential time. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice matters,” Perryman said. 

All proceeds from the $46 musical project, which is available for pre-sale beginning this week, will benefit Democracy Forward’s work, “including the legal representation it provides free of charge for people and communities to defend their rights under the Constitution,” the organization said.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Emma Navarro is not a fan of the 'billionaire's daughter' label

Emma Navarro dislikes being referred to as a ‘billionaire’s daughter’

Emma Navarro despises the “label.” As the No. 10-ranked women’s tennis player…
SEE IT: Small plane flips over in South Carolina backyard after pilot's deliberate maneuver

SEE IT: Small plane flips over in South Carolina backyard after pilot’s deliberate maneuver

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Home surveillance footage captured…

How law enforcement’s discovery of rare drug in Suzanne Morphew’s body led to her husband’s eventual arrest

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The investigation into Suzanne…
Megabill includes $40M for Trump's 'Garden of Heroes': Who would be in it?

Allocation of $40 million in Megabill for Trump’s “Garden of Heroes”: Which figures might be honored?

(NEXSTAR) Within the several hundreds of pages of the megabill the House…
Michael Madsen's distressing private health battle revealed

Actor Michael Madsen Opens Up About his Personal Health Struggles

Michael Madsen’s lawyer suggested that the well-known actor passed away at the…
U.S. contractors tell the AP that their colleagues are shooting at Palestinians seeking food in Gaza

U.S. contractors report colleagues shooting at Palestinians in Gaza while they seek food

BEERSHEBA, Israel — American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are…
California's largest blaze explodes in size as dry, hot weather raises wildfire risk statewide

Size of California’s Biggest Wildfire Grows Due to Dry, Hot Weather Increasing Wildfire Threat Across the State

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A wildfire in a wilderness area of central…
Chicago shooting: 18 shot, 4 fatally, in River North, police say

Police report 18 people shot, with 4 deaths, in River North, Chicago

A violence interrupter who was at the scene says the victims were…