In less than a month, North Carolinians will vote on the so-called defense of marriage amendment, which would permanently prohibit same-sex marriage and all forms of non-marriage civil unions by codifying the ban (which already exists in state law) into the state constitution.
Before that happens, though, three of the state’s finest songwriters will offer a loud stand against the proposed amendment. The Mountain Goats, Mac McCaughan (of Superchunk and Portastatic) and Greg Cartwright (of Reigning Sound, Compulsive Gamblers and The Oblivians) will take the stage at Motorco to raise money and awareness on behalf of the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, an equal-rights organization working to rally voters against Amendment 1.
The Mountain Goats’ frontman John Darnielleno stranger to local benefit gigsannounced the show via Twitter this afternoon. Tickets for the April 19 event are $20, but a $100 VIP option guarantees a meet-and-greet before the show and a song-request inserted into any of the three acts’ set list. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts an hour later. Comedian Tara DeFrancisco will open and act as MC. Tickets are available here.
It’s likely tickets will move quickly for this gig; they would no matter the cause. The Mountain Goats (and Darnielle’s novelistic folk songs) are known for their fervent following. McCaughan’s legacy is well-defined as the co-owner of Merge Records and leader of Superchunk and Portastatic, but a recent spate of solo gigs have all been well received. And Cartwright is garage-rock royalty whose cult-favorite band The Oblivians are preparing a new album for release this fall. So for tickets, and against Amendment 1, the time to act is now.
