Stephan Jenkins and his band Third Eye Blind joined Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne in a live concert Thursday at Zuccotti Park in New York City, the home of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.

Earlier this month, Jenkins wrote a song in support of OWS. "I hope it achieves its goals of starting new politics that are counter to the trend towards oligarchy that's been increasingly foisted on us these last few years," he said of the movement. "I think college students are going to come to terms with the unfairness of student loans, the hallowing out of jobs from finance based capitalism, and the depletion of public wealth. When you take money out of politics, which is what Occupy Wall Street is about for me, you reverse these trends. This song is meant to encourage their participation. I hope we flood this movement with music."

Third Eye Blind, who reached the peak of their fame in the '90s, and Browne are the first to perform at Zuccotti since the encampment was demolished last month. Before that, musicians who performed there included Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli and folk legends Arlo Guthrie, David Crosby and Graham Nash, DNAinfo.com reports.

Browne, who has a long history of activism, is one of the founders of Musicians United for Safe Energy, an anti-nuclear organization. His 1986 album, Lives in the Balance, criticized Reaganism and U.S. policy in Central America. More recently, in 2008, Browne sued presidential candidate John McCain, the Ohio Republican Party and the Republican National Committee for using his 1977 hit, "Running on Empty," in an attack advertisement against Barack Obama, according to Gothamist.com.

Read more about:
UInterview

Article by UInterview

Leave a comment

Subscribe to the uInterview newsletter