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Orlando ‘March For Our Lives’ Planning Artists, Speakers; Star-Studded Benefit Concert In The Works
Giles Clarke / Getty Images – Stoneman Douglas High School
Signs and flowers by the fence surrounding Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed in a shooting spree.
The Orlando edition of “March For Our Lives,” a nationwide demonstration to pressure legislators for tougher gun control measures, is looking for artists to perform and speak during the event, with a benefit concert in the planning stages to happen sometime after.
“We need help as far as getting artists that want to be part of this movement,” Maxwell Frost, one of the main organizers behind the Orlando march, told Pollstar.
On March 24, students from across the nation will participate in the March For Our Lives demonstration, with a main event in Washington, D.C., expected to draw as many as 500,000 demonstrators.
For artists, “it’s an opportunity for them to be involved in the Orlando march, which is going to be the biggest Florida one,” says Frost, who was one of the lead members on the logistics team at Coachella festival, and is a musician and producer. “And it’s also a big deal because Florida is the catalyst for change on this whole issue. We’re going to have members from the Pulse shooting there and Stoneman Douglas as well.”
While no artists have been announced for the Orlando march, sources have said major stars are interested in being part of a benefit concert that could take place in nearby Miami.
Florida has had a disproportionate share of high-profile gun violence in recent years, with 49 killed at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in June 2016, singer Christina Grimmie murdered outside a show while signing autographs also in 2016 in Orlando, and the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Feb. 18 where 27 were killed in Parkland.
An apparent plot to kidnap singer Lana Del Rey was thwarted Feb. 2 outside the Amway Center in Orlando, too.
See: Amway Center Exec On Thwarting Alleged Lana Del Rey Kidnapping
Frost added, “We are currently expecting about 10,000 to 15,000 students for the event.”
Giles Clarke / Getty Images Caption – Stoneman Douglas High School
In the background, the school building, now slated to be demolished, where 17 children and teachers were killed by lone gunman Nikolas Cruz.
“We just started reaching out today, this morning, actually,” Frost said yesterday. “We just got our permits approved by the city yesterday and the city is completely behind us.”
Frost added that the march requires a 32×24 mobile stage for the event, backline and a full sound system. They seek “artists that appeal to young people and an added bonus would be those who are known for youth empowerment and civic engagement.”
Major artists including Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles have voiced support for March For Our Lives, with each urging fans to sign the petition at marchforourlivespetition.com.
Pompano Beach Amphitheater in Florida will host a “Parkland Strong” benefit concert for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with homegrown favorites New Found Glory to perform. The pop-punk band has numerous members who attended MSDHS.
The #ParklandStrong concert is May 16 in the Pompano Beach, Fla. venue, roughly 15 miles from the site of the Feb. 14 shooting at the Parkland, Fla., high school that killed 17.
“[The idea] came from the band. They reached out to John O’Connell with the [local] radio station the day after the tragic shooting, [and] we happened to have a meeting that day,” Jeffrey Chabon, director of operations at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater, told Pollstar.