Last night, Vampire Weekend took to the stage at a Bernie Sanders rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa ahead of the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses.
In addition to showcasing a couple tracks from latest album Father of the Bride (‘2021’, ‘This Life’) and their catalogue more broadly (‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’, ‘Holiday’), the band also took on a spirited rendition of Thin Lizzy’s iconic ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’.
It’s not the first time the band have performed in support of Sanders, performing on the campaign trail back in 2016. Bandleader Ezra Koenig has also been vocal about his support of Sanders over the past years.
Last month, Koenig took to Instagram, saying, “I still believe that Bernie can win & it’s brutal seeing how much energy goes into convincing voters that one of the most popular politicians in the country (and the one who polls best against Trump) is unelectable.
“I don’t feel like I’m separating my values and my pragmatism by supporting Bernie and neither do millions of others ! Anyway, Bernie’s still the landslide favorite among people 35 and under (across racial and gender lines) so talk to your older, skeptical friends and family about why Bernie can actually win.”
VW are also, of course, far from the only band who have thrown their support behind the Democratic presidential candidate. Late last week Justin Vernon of Bon Iver played an acoustic set at a Sanders rally in Clive, Iowa, while The Strokes recently endorsed Sanders and announced they’d be performing at an upcoming rally later this month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uOhbLVlg9E&feature=emb_title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J90t-y0IFkI&feature=emb_title
