Celebrated roots rock band DISPATCH have released a timely acoustic re-recording of one of their most beloved singles, “The General,” in Russian to show their support of Ukraine. The song first appeared on the band’s sophomore album (1997’s Bang Bang), and has long resonated with fans who have streamed it hundreds of millions of times since its release and continue to scream the words back to the band every night on tour. DISPATCH founding members Chadwick Stokes and Brad Corrigan recognized the cultural relevancy of the lyrics about a battle-torn general who has a dream where he visits with the enemy and sees them not as soldiers but as young people with lives to live and families who love them, and Stokes worked with a translator to record the song entirely in Russian while Corrigan contributed vocal harmonies. The song was written as a statement against war and Stokes wanted to record it in Russian with the hope that Russian soldiers might hear the message and question their roll in this unjustified invasion. PRESS HERE to watch a video from the studio session and HERE to stream the track. Rolling Stone spoke with Stokes about both the learning and recording process earlier this month – PRESS HERE to read and HERE to read a moving oral history of the song via Esquire. 
 
“To force someone to act against humanity is to destroy their own humanity,” said Chadwick Stokes.
 
All proceeds from streams to benefit Leleka Foundation, which provides vital medical supplies for treatment of the wounded in Ukraine.
 
Making sense of our often-incomprehensible world has been at the core of DISPATCH’s mission since the very start when Chadwick Stokes and Brad Corrigan were still just students during college in Vermont. Since then, they have forged their own path outside the mainstream music industry as one of the most cherished artists in the roots rock scene. Over the course of a slew of acclaimed studio and live albums and countless tours and festivals, the band has gone on to become one of biggest success stories in independent music history, selling out three nights at Madison Square Garden and drawing over 100,000 fans to a massive outdoor show in their hometown of Boston without any traditional radio or major label support. Throughout their rise, Stokes and Corrigan have taken every opportunity to use their success for good, launching charitable organizations to fight poverty and mass incarceration, raising funds and awareness for environmental causes on the road, and even traveling as far afield as Nicaragua and Zimbabwe to work with children and communities in need. The band recently released their extraordinary 8th studio album, Break Our Fall, to critical acclaim. 
 
This summer, DISPATCH will hit the road with O.A.R for their first-ever North American Co-Headline Tour, which is scheduled to kick off on July 15, 2022, and the two bands will be joined by special guest G. Love on all dates. The excursion starts in Mesa, AZ and weaves its way throughout the US until mid-September, making 37 stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, Cleveland, Nashville, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philly, Austin, Virginia Beach and more. Tickets are on-sale now – for more details and full routing, please visit www.dispatch-oar.com.