Philly’s Disco Biscuits draw hundreds of thousands of viewers to their empty-ballpark concert, raising $75,000 for Black Lives Matter
Proceeds will go to the PLUS 1 For Black Lives Fund, with money distributed to the Urban League of Philadelphia, the Equal Justice Initiative, the Bail Project, and Impact Justice, along with other grassroots organizations.
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Philadelphia band the Disco Biscuits played an empty-ballpark concert Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park to a streaming audience of roughly half a million fans on Phillies, Live Nation, and Biscuits social media, organizers said, raising $75,000 to benefit Black Lives Matter.
That’s an exceptionally weird stream of words together in one sentence, but these are strange times.
The electronic jam band played the socially distanced performance from the infield dirt. “I have been to this ballpark so many times,” bassist Marc Brownstein said after the 90-minute set, “and it took me a while to realize no one was going to be here but us.”
Proceeds from the show, which was free to watch, go to the PLUS 1 For Black Lives Fund, with money distributed to various organizations including the Urban League of Philadelphia.
The Disco Biscuits, a “trancefusion” band, had been in talks with the Phillies to play a charity show at Citizens Bank Park similar to the virtual shows put on by Boston band the Dropkick Murphys with guest Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park in May.
When the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis last month inspired protests around the nation and the world, the band pivoted to make the show a benefit for PLUS 1 For Black Lives Fund, which supports the Equal Justice Initiative, the Bail Project, and Impact Justice, along with other grassroots organizations.
» READ MORE: How George Floyd's death changed Philadelphia from 1,100 miles away
Tuesday night’s streaming show aired live on the YouTube and Facebook pages of the Disco Biscuits, Phillies, and Live Nation’s Live From Home platform. It’s now archived here.
Like every other touring band, the Disco Biscuits have been sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic since March. The band’s three-day Camp Bisco festival, slated for this summer at Montage Mountain in Scranton, has been rescheduled for July 8-10, 2021.