Music and politics have a long, tangled history — it’s easy to find one within the other.
It was barely two months ago that the likes of Meat Loaf and Ted Nugent were pulling for Mitt Romney, while James Taylor and a bevy of pop stars rooted hard and loud for Barack Obama.
This weekend, the two come together another way in an event called Rock for Roe, hosted at The Pinhook in Durham.
The event celebrates the 40th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, while raising money for NARAL Pro-Choice N.C., a political organization advocating women’s rights.
The event popped up quickly — announced a mere two weeks before the show — but it’s been brewing for a while.
“The show has been in the works for about three or four months, but it all really came together within the last three or four weeks,” said Cory Rayborn, who runs local label Three Lobed Recordings. His wife, Rebecca Mann, serves on the Board of Directors of NARAL Pro-Choice N.C. The two worked together to lock down the line-up.
Also on the board? John Darnielle, the adopted Durham local who’s better known nationally as the Mountain Goats. Darnielle will headline the event as the Mountain Goats, performing a rare solo set.
Darnielle has long been a vocal advocate of women’s rights — those who have seen Darnielle in concert may also have noticed his “Trust Women” badge.
The NARAL benefit is one night only, but Kym Register, who co-owns The Pinhook in addition to being a full-time member of folk act Midtown Dickens, hopes The Pinhook can serve as an open, accepting space for events of all sorts.
“It’s not exclusive, working on women’s rights isn’t exclusive. You have to have a vision of equality for a lot of things, a broader vision of equality. I feel like women’s rights, anti-racism work, queer rights, undocumented workers’ rights — it’s all rolled into one,” she said.
“Basically, that’s what we try and keep our venue open to for fundraisers and other events or ideologies. We’re constantly trying to work on ideologies.”
Register added that she hoped to host events that mirrored the atmosphere and people of Durham as a whole.
In addition to helping host, Register will take the stage with Creedence Queerwater Revival, a cover band tackling the tunes of — you probably guessed it — ‘60s rock outfit Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Mike Taylor, best known for his work as Hiss Golden Messenger, has teamed up with fellow local stars Mount Moriah to form Blooz Travelerzz, another surprise cover band.
“It’s just me and Mount Moriah doing covers of songs that we like — mostly what people would think of as classic rock. I better keep it a secret of what we’re going to play until that night,” Taylor said.
Register pointed to the headliner’s star power as an important tool in mobilizing fans to become more active in and aware of politics.
“It’s definitely an event that, since someone like John (Darnielle) is playing, is highly publicized in the music world,” she noted.
“I feel like it’s just really important as entertainers — speaking from an entertainer’s perspective — that we cultivate whatever politics that we care about deeply and use entertainment — not even just entertainment — but entertainment and music to bridge those two worlds.”
“I hope that people that are like, ‘Yeah, Mountain Goats!’ are also like, ‘Yeah, NARAL!’” she added.
The ultimate goal of the evening is fundraising, but Taylor, Register and Rayborn are all enthusiastic about the outcome of the show beyond how much money comes in.
“There’s a pretty deep pool of talent here in Durham,” Taylor said.
“It seems to me that it’s evident in a whole lot of ways that this is one particular event where the musicians are good, the cause is good, the club is good, the people putting it together are good. I think the good vibes will abound on this one.”
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.
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