Pussy Riot will play Birmingham, Alabama on July 11 in protest of the state's abortion ban law.
Feminist protest punks Pussy Riot have announced that they'll play a show in Birmingham, Alabama in protest of that state's recent abortion law ban. The Russian activist/art group will donate all ticket proceeds from the show to both the Yellowhammer Fund -- a charity that provides funding for anyone seeking care at one of Alabama's three abortion clinics, and which also helps pay for travel, lodging, etc for those who need it -- and Planned Parenthood. Pussy Riot recently made a (very short) video about the situation called Get Out Of My Uterus, which you can watch below.
The band's Nadya Tolokonnikova -- who spent two years in prison after being arrested for her involvement in Pussy Riot's Punk Prayer performance outside Moscow's Cathedral Of Christ The Savior in February 2012 -- released the following statement on the band's new video piece:
“GET OUT OF MY UTERUS OR I’LL CUT YOUR BALLS OFF. Pro-life? Ban the guns. When we're on the street and a 60-yo creepy dude tells a 20yo woman what to do with her body, we call it a harassment or a rape. When we're at the senate, it's called politics.
I'll always have planned parenthood in my heart. And in my vagina. I've seen desperate crying lonely women coming to PP as at their last resort. PP is a modern church for all the desperate, and for the poor. If only church would ever make any good for women.”
The band also made a video flier for their Alabama show, which you can watch below:
In addition to the Alabama fundraiser, Pussy Riot -- who, in 2014, set up Mediazona, a 100% free-of-censorship independent Russian media agency focusing on law enforcement issues -- will be playing a number of gigs and festivals in the U.S., Canada and Europe this summer. Their full list of dates is as follows:
JUNE
06 - Los Angeles, CA, Wiltern (Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Go West Fest)
13 - Austria, Novarock Festival
21 - Reykjavik, Iceland, Secret Solstice
28 - Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Mirage (LadyLand Festival)
JULY
11 - Birmingham, AL, Saturn (Planned Parenthood + YellowHammer Fundraiser)
13 - Ottawa, ON, Ottawa Blues Fest
AUGUST
10 - Skanderborg, Denmark, Smukfest
16 - Gornești, Romania, Awake Fest
24 - London, UK, Byline Fest
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