In response to violent white-supremacist rallies in their hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) planned a night for music and unity. “A Concert for Charlottesville” attracted many headliners including Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams and more. Since a lottery system was in place, getting tickets was nearly impossible. Many were unhappy about the limited amount of tickets available, so an additional 3,000 tickets were released to University of Virginia and Charlottesville residents on the morning of the concert. However, the stadium and floor were not overcrowded, giving a more personal feel to the concert. Along with musical performances, performers incorporated speeches and poems which addressed the political issues in Charlottesville.
Although many celebrities were planned to perform, there was an open slot for “special guests,” causing many rumors. From Beyonce to Jimmy Kimmel, names of suspected performers spread throughout the internet. Unfortunately, Beyonce and Kimmel, my queens, were not the special guests. However, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder satisfied the audience with their surprise performances. Though Coldplay was in the midst of their “A Head Full Of Dreams” tour, they flew to Virginia immediately after their Seattle show to support Charlottesville. Only Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland, the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of Coldplay, played in Charlottesville, but their performance was nothing short of amazing. Their setlist included some of their biggest hits such as “The Scientist” and “Viva la Vida” in addition to Chuck Berry’s “You Can Never Tell.” One of the most powerful performances of the night was Coldplay’s “Amazing Day” which displayed the positive energy which filled Scott’s Stadium.
During Timberlake and Williams performances, all eyes were on them. They are both fantastic performs who dominate the stage. Timberlake performed his biggest hits, “Can’t Stop the Felling” and “Sexyback.” Jumping and singing filled the arena. Since Williams grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, his compassion and love for Virginia was felt throughout the night. William’s performance of “Happy” brought positivity to the audience.
As DMB hosted the concert, Dave Matthews, the lead singer, appropriately made appearances throughout the night. It is no lie that DMB has a big fan base, but a large majority of the concert attendees were college students who were most likely there to see Williams and Timberlake. Therefore, instead of playing many lesser known songs, DMB should have focused on their hits such as “Ants Marching” or “Crash into Me.”
Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes collaborated with the Roots to perform “Ball of Confusion” by Leon Bridges, and it was incredible. Before the concert, I was vaguely familiar with Howard and the Roots, but after hearing their outstanding performances, they are now all over my Spotify playlists. Both Howard and the Roots incorporated topics into their performance which were focused around the racial and political problems in Charlottesville. By doing so, they kept the focus on music and unity, but still brought light to the issues.
In addition to musical performances addressing the terror in Charlottesville, speeches and poems were recited. A large reason for the concert was to remember and honor Heather Hayer’s life. Hayer was protesting white supremacists in Charlottesville when a car intentionally ran into a crowd and killed her. One of the speeches made was from Hayer’s mother, Susan Bro, and it beautifully celebrated her daughter’s life. Bro explained that what happened to Hayer “struck a chord” within the community. Rather than Hayer’s death “shutting her up,” it magnified her. Bro combined remembrances of Hayer’s life with inspiring social justice messages. A Facebook post Hayer wrote prior to her death reveals her courageous personality perfectly: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”
Although I acknowledge the disastrous events that took place in Charlottesville, and the importance of forming a community bond in response to this violence, I do not think a statute should have affected the town in such a profound way. Obviously, I understand the need to remove statues that celebrate oppressive people, but I do not think that Charlottesville handled the removal of the statute properly. Following the violent rally in Charlottesville, the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland ordered confederate statues to be removed from their city in the middle of the night. By doing this, Baltimore prevented preventing many protests from happening, something Charlottesville should have done. The prolonged process of removing or relocating the statue in Charlottesville resulted in many violent rallies. Ultimately, Charlottesville could have avoided the tragic events if the removal of the statue was not as public.
Overall, “A Concert for Charlottesville” was a night full of inspiring performances and speeches. Both planned and surprise performers helped to spread positivity in Charlottesville. DMB, Williams, Pharrell, the Roots, Coldplay and many more traveled to Virginia to show their support. The concert was extremely effective in bringing unity to Charlottesville. A night of dancing and singing was much needed for Charlottesville.
