Regardless of who wins the Presidency, history will be made on Election Day this year. Today HeadCount, a non-partisan voter registration organization, announced plans to mark the occasion through a first-of-its-kind concert called “Soundtrack to History,” presented by Magic Hat Brewing Company.
As the polls begin to close on Tuesday November 8th, and election results are revealed on the giant video screens at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City, Everyone Orchestra and a slew of special guests will take the stage and musically interpret the results in real time. They’ll use the election returns and the mood of the crowd as a muse for improvisation, creating a night of truly historic music unlike any other election event in the country.
The festivities begin at 8PM. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $75 for VIP and $250 for Benefactor, and are on sale beginning Friday, October 14 at 10am EDT at brooklynbowl.com.
Everyone Orchestra’s Matt Butler will conduct the musical adventure with Steve Kimock, members of the Disco Biscuits (Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner), moe. (Vinnie Amico), Snarky Puppy (Jay Jennings and Chris Bullock), Big Gigantic (Jeremy Salken), Trey Anastasio Band (Natalie Cressman) and Jans Ingber (formerly of The Motet). Additional special guests will be announced.
“We’re giving fans a chance to have a shared musical experience on a night they may remember the rest of their lives,” said Brownstein, who is HeadCount’s founder and Co-Chair, and will play bass in Everyone Orchestra throughout a week-long tour. “We’ve always wanted to do something like this and Everyone Orchestra is a perfect musical outlet to make it happen.”
Magic Hat Brewing Company and HeadCount began collaborating back in 2004, when they found a common ground in music and its power to motivate. They have teamed up for election-themed concerts before, staging sold-out events in New York City on the eve of the elections in 2008 and 2012. Those shows, produced by New York concert promoter CEG Presents, featured appearances by Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes, Questlove, Joss Stone, The Disco Biscuits, Bela Fleck, Robert Randolph, John Medeski, Stanton Moore, Joe Russo and many others. Some were announced in advance and others were surprise guests.
This event will mark the end of HeadCount’s 2015-16 voter turnout campaign, which saw the organization register well over 100,000 voters. The results include over 50,000 voters registrations at concerts and events, and an even larger number of registration applications completed through its website HeadCount.org.
In the month leading up to the election, HeadCount will continue to be an active force in driving voter turnout. HeadCount volunteers around the U.S. will hand out cell phone wallets stuffed with voter information guides at concerts. Meanwhile, HeadCount will organize a social media campaign where hundreds of musicians post “#GoVote” photos of themselves on social media. This follows a highly successful photo campaign on September 27th for National Voter Registration Day, when entertainers such as Stephen Colbert, Jack Johnson, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bob Weir, Killer Mike, Ani DiFranco, and Kings of Leon posted “Register to Vote” photos that spurred over 20,000 people to register to vote online. View a selection of photos HERE.
Look for HeadCount voter awareness events at concerts throughout the U.S. over the coming weeks. For a complete list of upcoming voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, visit www.headcount.org
HeadCount's "Soundtrack to History"
