It’s not surprising that Tom Petty’s passing came to inspire an annual birthday festival. Anyone who ever attended a Heartbreakers show knows that infinite feeling and suspicion that a summer night and a favorite song might somehow go on forever. That may not have turned out to be quite true, but artists, friends, and fans have been flocking to Gainesville since Petty’s death to hold on as tightly as possible to what the man and his music meant to so many of us. This year, of course, posed additional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop Petty’s family and friends from piecing together a heartfelt tribute that not only celebrated what would’ve been the artist’s 70th birthday but raised money for several notable, music-related causes. <img aria-describedby="c...
GOTV Meets WFH: We’re eight months into a global pandemic and 17 days away from the strangest presidential election in modern memory, so it’s no huge shock that this year’s get-out-the-vote efforts look drastically different than past cycles. Mostly, that’s meant a shift away from performing at rallies and towards ensuring that all votes get counted safely and fairly. Those efforts have taken various shapes that conform to our current isolation, from the swing state organizing of Justin Vernon’s for Wisconsin initiative to charity Bandcamp compilations like Talk-Action=Zero Vol. 2 and Good Music to Prevent the Collapse of American Democracy to weary remote testimonials shared in a recent Pitchfork feature. Enter Run the Jewels. The Atlanta hip-hop duo of Killer Mike and El-P already owned ...