"Vote for Change" Coalition of Musicians Announces Tour to Battleground States to Get Out the Vote this Fall

SEATTLE, WA (PRWEB) August 6, 2004

More than 20 artists, including Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and John Mellencamp announced today the launch of the “Vote for Change” Tour, which will kickoff on October 1 st and bring its "Vote for Change" message to 9 of the 17 key electoral battleground states.

The "Vote for Change" Tour will take place Oct. 1-8 in key cities in Iowa, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

“The upcoming election provides everyone an opportunity to change the direction our country is headed and to elect a government that is just, rational and respectful of the views and rights of the people it serves. This coalition of artists wants to be a part of that change,” said Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam.

“This election is the most important one in our lifetime,” said Dave Matthews. “It may be the most important in America’s history.”

Conceived by a loose coalition of musicians four months ago, Vote for Change is a multi-city, multi-artist tour that will include approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in 9 states over the course of one week.

All Vote for Change artists are donating their time and talent in support of the tour. The Vote for Change tour will be presented by MoveOn PAC, with all concert proceeds benefiting the work of America Coming Together (ACT).

Unprecedented in scale and strategy, ACT is building the largest voter mobilization effort in history to elect progressive candidates to federal, state and local offices in November. For more information on ACT, visit http://www.act04.com .

Artist lineups include:

• Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band/R.E.M./John

Fogerty/Bright Eyes

• Dixie Chicks/James Taylor

• Pearl Jam/Death Cab for Cutie

• Dave Matthews Band/Ben Harper/Jurassic 5/My

Morning Jacket

• Bonnie Raitt/Jackson Browne/ Keb’ Mo’/ others TBA

• John Mellencamp/Babyface

These and other artists will be appearing on separate bills on the same night in select cities around several battleground states. Vote for Change artists hope to accomplish a single goal through the tour: to get people to the polls on November 2 and to vote for a change.

The Vote for Change tour came about as part of an informal conversation among a handful of artists on how they could make a difference in this year’s elections and beyond. This idea has resulted in a first-of-its-kind endeavor where Vote for Change participating artists will focus their energies on the states where the elections are expected to be the closest.

BACKGROUND:

Unprecedented in scale and strategy, ACT is building the largest voter mobilization effort in history to elect progressive candidates to federal, state and local offices in November. For more information on ACT, visit http://www.act04.com .

MoveOn PAC is a 2.5 million-member online grassroots political action committee working to take back our government. By gathering small contributions from ordinary citizens, it is using the Internet to level the playing field against the interest of big corporate money in politics. Its sister organization, MoveOn.org, raises issues of war and peace, social justice, media integrity and honesty in government. For more information, visit http://www.moveonpac.org .

Vote for Change tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on August 21 for all tour dates in all cities. For more information about Vote for Change, including ticket information and dates scheduled, go to http://www.moveonpac.org .

Here is the "Vote for Change" Tour Schedule:

(as of August 3, 2004*)

Pearl Jam / Death Cab for Cutie    

Friday, Oct. 1 Reading, PA    

Saturday, Oct. 2 Toledo, OH    

Sunday, Oct. 3 Grand Rapids, MI    

Tuesday, Oct. 5 St. Louis, MO

Wednesday, Oct. 6 Asheville, NC    

Friday, Oct. 8 Kissimmee, FL

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band / R.E.M. / John Fogerty / Bright Eyes

Friday, Oct. 1 Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, Oct. 2 Cleveland, OH

Sunday, Oct. 3 Ann Arbor, MI

Tuesday, Oct. 5 St. Paul, MN

Friday, Oct. 8 Orlando, FL

Dave Matthews Band / Jurassic 5 / My Morning Jacket    

Friday, Oct. 1 State College, PA

Saturday, Oct. 2 Dayton, OH

Sunday, Oct. 3 Detroit, MI    

Wednesday, Oct. 6 Ames, IA    

Friday, Oct. 8 Gainesville, FL    

Dixie Chicks / James Taylor

Friday, Oct. 1 Pittsburgh, PA

Saturday, Oct. 2 Cleveland, OH

Sunday, Oct. 3 Detroit, MI

Tuesday, Oct. 5 Iowa City, IA

Wednesday, Oct. 6 St. Louis, MO

Friday, Oct. 8 Tampa Bay, FL

Jackson Browne / Bonnie Raitt / Keb' Mo'    

Friday, Oct. 1 Williamsport, PA

Saturday, Oct. 2 TBA    

Sunday, Oct. 3 Grand Rapids, MI    

Tuesday, Oct. 5 Kansas City, MO

Wednesday, Oct. 6 Des Moines, IA    

Friday, Oct. 8 Jacksonville, FL    

John Mellencamp / Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds

Friday, Oct. 1 Wilkes-Barre, PA

Saturday, Oct. 2 Cincinnati, OH

Sunday, Oct. 3 Kalamazoo, MI

Tuesday, Oct. 5 Milwaukee, WI

Friday, Oct. 8 Miami, FL

(*Note: Others to be announced.)

For more information, visit http://www.act04.com or

http://www.moveonpac.org .

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