Rise Against Give It All For Online Save Our Stages Set

Chicago punk rock kings Rise Against hit their city's iconic Metro venue this weekend as part of virtual benefit festival Save Our Stages.

The quartet performed a blistering six-song set spanning their entire career at the empty venue – from Siren Song Of The Counter Culture smash Give It All to 2020 single Broken Dreams, Inc.

It was all in aid of raising awareness for the worrying state of the music industry during the coronavirus pandemic, with local and independent venues seriously struggling this year.

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“North America started the National Independent Venue Association – mostly in response to the fact that these venues are falling through the cracks of a lot of government assistance; they’re not being taken care of the way that a lot of [other] businesses are being taken care of,” frontman Tim McIlrath told Kerrang! recently. “They really need extra attention, and we’ve been trying to contribute when we can, and to generate awareness around the issue of independent venues and their potential closing in this time.

“It’s hard, because there’s no shows, and so not only are the employees not getting paid, but the buildings themselves… how they’re going to weather this year is a really tricky balance for a lot of these venue owners – and especially independent venue owners. The bigger venues are hurting too, but a lot of them have more resources at their disposal, but the independent venues need the help.

“Right now, the National Independent Venue Association is trying to petition government to take venues seriously and treat them as what they are: these institutions of art and culture in everybody’s towns that mean a lot to people – they certainly mean a lot to us, and they mean a lot to our audience as well. These buildings are irreplaceable a lot of the time, too; as a band who have rolled around the world playing all these shows, you really come to appreciate those old venues. And then when you play a brand-new venue, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, you can’t just construct the charm that lives in an old venue.’ It’s not as magical – and so when I use the word ‘irreplaceable’, I really mean it.”

To learn more about the National Independent Venue Association and to tell Congress about the importance of protecting these venues, head here. To donate to the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, go to this link.

Rise Against's Save Our Stages fest setlist:

1. Re-Education (Through Labor)
2. Give It All
3. The Violence
4. Broken Dreams, Inc. (live debut)
5. Prayer Of The Refugee
6. Savior

Watch the full set below:

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