By: Jess Dominguez
On May 16th, Tonitruale, an online diary platform “based on music and fashion for people that have loud opinions” hosted a virtual concert to support AAPI women lead charities. The event raised money for a cause dedicated to sharing the stories of self identified Asian and Pacific Islander girls and women and their experiences of violence. The bands’ performances shed light on the hate crimes that many individuals of these identities face and the microaggressions expressed especially in America today. Those who were in attendance of the live streamed event were able to donate while listening to the acoustic sets. This star studded lineup included artists from all over the world, from local Chicago musicians to artists in France, with everyone coming together to uplift such an important cause. The artist lineup included: Attempt, The Foxies, Cold Beaches, T Truman, Miss Grit, Wild Love, Dylan Pyles, Henry Nowhere, and Dyllan.
Anaïs Turiello, a writer here at WLUW, conducted the livestream and interviewed the nine musicians before each of their twenty minute sets. Many of the performers expressed why it is important for them to support these charities. Cold Beaches a.k.a Sophia Nadia expressed the importance of making people seen, especially women of color in music. The featured artists touched on the increased xenophobia in the United States given the Covid-19 pandemic. The discourse throughout the livestream focused on uplifting these communities and being an ally. The Chicago artist Nadia explained, “We need to call out comments that lead to objectification and hate” surrounding Asian women.
Appearances were made by artists working on solo projects like T Truman from The Vaccines and Henry Nowhere from Day Wave. Additionally, the artist Miss Grit, who was recently featured on NME, brought their soft vocals and covered the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Hysteric”. Karen O is an influential artist to Miss Grit as they said how the Yeah Yeah Yeahs front-woman was the first Korean artist they listened to and related with. The event represented artists with many different identities who all came together to support AAPI women. The platform allowed women and non-bianary artists to share the reality of being marginalized within the music scene. Overall, the event focused on uplifting the voices of AAPI women through the live performances of many musical allies.
Check out the full live stream on Instagram @tonitruale.