Grateful Dead Members Donate $100,000 To Fight North Carolina’s HB2

"We had hoped that by now this abhorrent law would have been repealed. Sadly, it has not."

From: NewNowNext

 Remaining members of the Grateful Dead say they will perform in North Carolina later this month, but plan to donate $100,000 to groups that support the LGBT community.

Along with John Mayer, the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir have formed the super group Dead & Company, which is slated to perform at Charlotte’s PNC Music Pavilion on June 10.

“We had hoped that by now this abhorrent law would have been repealed,” the band said in a statement. “Sadly, it has not.”

 In addition to the donation, the band is assembling a ’Participation Row” social-action area, where voter-registration, anti-discrimination and pro-environmental organizations will be able to share information.

“Dead shows have always been a safe place for all of our audience to come together through music no matter how they appear or self-identify,” the band said in a statement. “History shows these values of openness and inclusiveness have served us—and the world around us—well.”

While artists like Bruce Springsteen, Maroon 5 and Nick Jonas have canceled shows in the Tar Heel State, Dead & Company joins Cyndi Lauper and Duran Duran as musicians keeping their shows and using the platform to raise awareness.