Pick a Day

Featured Category : Protests

April 8, 2016 Bruce Springsteen cancels an upcoming show in Greensboro, North Carolina, in protest of a state law limiting the rights of transgender people. "Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry - which is happening as I write - is one of them," he writes. Pearl Jam follows suit, bowing out of a show in Raleigh.

July 26, 2015 The first Black Lives Matter conference at Cleveland State University turns into a protest with activists chanting the chorus of Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" in defiance of police harassment.More

October 1, 2000 Australian rock band Midnight Oil play their hit "Beds Are Burning" at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Sydney. Their black outfits are emblazoned with the word "sorry," a symbolic olive branch towards the Aboriginals who were forced from their lands by a government that refuses to apologize.More

February 19, 1996 During Michael Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" at the 1996 BRIT Awards, Jarvis Cocker of the band Pulp jumps on stage and makes demeaning gestures toward Jackson. Cocker says he did it because Jackson was "pretending to be Jesus."More

February 20, 1991 Public Enemy and Sinead O'Connor are nominated for Grammy Awards, but skip the ceremony: PE has beef because the rap award isn't televised; Sinead says they "respect mostly material gain." She wins anyway, taking the trophy for Best Alternative Music Performance for her album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.More

June 12, 1982 As part of the "No Nukes" movement during the Cold War, the largest political rally in US history takes place when about 750,000 people go to New York's Central Park for the Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, which features performances by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Gary "U.S." Bonds.More

June 6, 1982 The "Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream" concert takes place in Los Angeles, featuring Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Stevie Wonder. 85,000 attend the show, which supports nuclear disarmament.

September 23, 1979 The crowd chants, "Hell No, We Won't Glow" at a massive 5-hour anti-nuke rally in New York City's Battery Park, where Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt are among the performers.More

September 21, 1979 Bruce Springsteen debuts his song "The River" at a show in Madison Square Garden. He is performing as part of Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE) in a protest against nuclear power. Other artists that go on before him have to contend with the constant droning of "Broooooooooooooce," as he's the main attraction. Bonnie Raitt doesn't figure out until after her set that the crowd was not booing her, just anticipating Springsteen's performance.

September 19, 1979 James Taylor, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt perform at Madison Square Garden for the first of five "no nukes" concerts.More

June 7, 1977 The Sex Pistols make a mockery of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee by playing punk rock from a boat on the Thames River, including their subversive hit, "Anarchy in the U.K."

August 30, 1976 The Notting Hill riots take place as black youth clash with police at the Notting Hill Carnival in England. Members of The Clash are present, and the event inspires them to write "White Riot" as a call for white people to protest with the same furor.More

May 2, 1971 It's day two of the Mayday protests, as demonstrators fed up with the war in Vietnam try to shut down the US government by blocking off streets and bridges in Washington, DC. Thousands of arrests are made, many to bystanders who have nothing to do with the protest. At the foot of the Washington Monument, where much of the action is taking place, Jonathan Edwards performs his new song, "Sunshine." As the arrests continue, he plays the song over and over, "because there's no better song for the soundtrack of that movie."

May 4, 1970 Later memorialized in the Neil Young song "Ohio," the Ohio National Guard fires on protesters at Kent State University, killing four students, two of whom weren't even protesting. This shameful event in American history leads to the formation of Devo, as Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale are both on campus and horrified by the events.More

December 15, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono launch the "War Is Over" campaign with billboards declaring peace around the world.More