Our society is currently going through a critically sensitive and high tension time, as the rigidity between Russia and Ukraine spikes. On Thursday, February 24th, news spread of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and our world has been holding its breath in apprehension of what is to come. Many have expressed fear over the possibility of Russia’s actions leading to a prospect of war, and we have witnessed countless displays of support for Ukraine amid this ongoing Russian invasion.
It comes as no surprise that the progressive music business of today has risen up in support of the struggling country. The industry certainly has a track record of speaking out in times of political strife, proven by their reaction to the pandemic and political events during the last few years. Many artists and organizations have made their solidarity towards Ukraine known, having shared their thoughts and condolences through social media and acts of protest. The music industry has contributed in several ways to the cause of not letting Ukraine feel ignored during this tough time.
Many big names in music have reacted in devastation to the recent events, using their social media platforms to express their feelings on the matter. Last Thursday, singer Miley Cyrus said that she was “standing in solidarity with everyone in Ukraine who is affected by this attack and with our global community who is calling for an immediate end to this violence in a tweet. Yungblud shared his saddened state over the matter as well, taking to Twitter to say that he is “devastated to see what is happening in the Ukraine right now.”
See below for more tweets regarding artist and influencer opinions.
The EDM duo The Chainsmokers shared their disappointment in a tweet as well-
People in Russia have also expressed their disagreement of the current situation on public platforms. Russian DJ Arty went on twitter to talk about his feelings on the conflict-
Noah Cyrus posted on Instagram to acknowledge the situation, and even offered links to resources where people can get informed and help out-
Legendary punk-rock band Green Day has also made strides to stand up for Ukraine amongst the conflict. They have taken noticeable action by canceling their upcoming concert at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium. The concert was scheduled to take place May 29 as part of Green Day’s Hella Mega Tour, however the concert date has now been removed from the band’s website.
On February 27th, they made an announcement on social media about the cancellation in an attempt to make people pay attention. The group posted the following message via Instagram stories-
“With heavy hearts, in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium. We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s so much bigger than that. But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Refunds available at the point of purchase. Stay safe.”
Many organizations and creators have publicly protested against the invasion. Russian rapper Oxxxymiron canceled six of his sold out concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow as a protest towards the assault of Ukrainian citizens. Additionally, the European Broadcasting Union is no longer allowing Russia to participate in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in order to make a statement against the actions from their government.
On this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, the show opened with a performance of the song “Prayer for Ukraine” sung by the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York. This performance stood as a tribute to Ukraine amidst the recent invasions. The episode was hosted by John Mulaney, featuring LCD Soundsystem as musical guest. Scroll down to watch the full performance on SNL.
In a time where many of us feel helpless or unsafe over our political environment, we can appreciate people and organizations within the music industry taking advantage of their influence on our minds and media outlets to acknowledge current events, take noticeable action, and get people of all ages informed via social media.
For more resources and information about this topic, view the following article HERE which outlines the situation and ways that people can get involved.