We previously mentioned that the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti had united people from across the globe to stand up against the brutality of Donald Trump’s I.C.E. There are so many anti-ICE songs that there is a whole Wikipedia Page.
When Donald Trump’s ICE invaded Portland, Oregon, Superchunk stood with the city they called home and donated their time and money with a tour-only “Songs in the Key of Abolish ICE” T-Shirts. The shirts sold out immediately, and now, with the recent murders of two Minnesotans, Superchunk will be reprinting the shirts, with profits from the sale benefiting The People’s Laundry Minneapolis and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. The shirts are available for preorder from the Merge store or Superchunk’s Bandcamp page for two weeks, February 5-13.
If you are in the North Carolina area, the band is playing a free show on February 12, 2026, as part of “Bernie, Beats & Brew” event (featuring Senator Bernie Sanders as speaker).
Superchunk writes:
Please Note: All profits for this shirt will be donated to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, and The Peoples Laundry MPLS.
This fan favorite t-shirt sold out fast on Superchunk’s recent tour dates, but is now available to order for a limited time! Printed on 100% cotton by our friends at Tannis Root Inc.
This shirt will only be available to order for one week, and this design will not be reprinted. Shirts are expected to ship in early March, but ship times may vary.
Profits will be split 50/50 between each organization.
Shipping out on or around March 6, 2026
Rock the Country – South Carolina (Cancelled)
Rock the Country
I briefly mentioned in late January that Morgan Wade, Carter Faith, Ludacris have all pulled out of Kid Rock’s MAGA-associated festival Rock the Country. It was really a nothing-story, but recently the festival is getting more bad press.
The two-night Rock the Country event scheduled for Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center in Anderson, South Carolina, was cancelled due to the two headliners, Creed and Shinedown, both pulling out of the pro-ICE, pro-MAGA music festival. No one wants to play this concert, so the organizers were forced to cancel their show in South Carolina.
The reasons why bands are leaving, because they are listening to their fans. Their fans are telling them, you do not want to support a masked agency, who can trespass your home without a proper warrant. You don’t want to support a group that murders US citizens, with “absolute immunity” as JD Vance proudly stated. They’re doing the right thing.
Shinedown issued this statement:
SHINEDOWN is everybody’s band. We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song.
We have one BOSS, and it is everyone in the audience. our band’s purpose is to unite, not divide. With that in mind, we have made the decision that we will not be playing the Rock the Country Festival.
We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.
And to our fans, thank you for supporting and believe in us.
We love and appreciate you always.
All love and respect,
SHINEDOWN
Now that the Super Bowl is over, and the numbers are in – it is rather embarrassing for the Anti-Latino show led by Kid Rock. Basically, no one watched it (even Donald Trump didn’t watch it), and the few people who saw it, they said Kid Rock was lip-syncing. Seeing images, there’s no comparison. Kid Rock’s show was just standard rock show. While Bad Bunny’s halftime show is well choreographed with a huge cast of dancers. Everyone wanted to be part of the show, even Lady Gaga showed up for a duet, and ending with a march of people representing South American nations and their flags. The message is unity and love and friendship, complete opposite of MAGA.
Viewership numbers:
• Super Bowl LX (Bad Bunny): Projected 135-142 million viewers.
• Puppy Bowl 2026 (XXII): Estimated 12.8 million total viewers.
• Alternative Show (Kid Rock/TPUSA): Peaked at 6.1 million concurrent viewers on YouTube.
I honest think that 6 million number is inflated. There is speculation that bots were streaming the show to artificially boost the numbers (some live streamers have been caught or known to use these services so they look popular). One of the clues is to look at the lack of live chat.
Quique Escamilla (Jan 22, 2026)
Quique Escamilla
Canada-based, Mexican citizen Quique Escamilla, in fear for injustice of the ICE enforcement, cancelled his USA tour. We mentioned that Escamilla was scheduled to play the Putumayo Celebrate the World Festival, but he cancelled his appearance.
In his public statement via Instagram, he explains:
I have cancelled my trip to New Orleans this week for our performance at Folk Alliance International 2026, as well as other future performances in the United States for the rest of 2026 and beyond.
My difficult decision comes after the unjust killing of Renee Nicole Good on January 7 in Minneapolis by an ICE agent – an act that made unmistakably clear that there is no longer lawfulness nor accountability in how U.S. immigration enforcement is operating, and what many of us already know: the current U.S. administration is not broken; it is functioning exactly as its current leaders envisioned it. It is violent. It is racialized, divisive, fear-instill, and inhuman.
No human being should be killed, detained, disappeared, or terrorized in the name of “immigration policy.” Not Mexican. Not American. Not anyone.
Escamilla continues on about how unsafe he feels in the USA, and details about the major financial cost it is costing him, that the decision to cancel was the correct choice.
Cancelled: The Rural Alberta Advantage at Fine Line (Feb 13, 2026)
We have made the difficult decision to cancel our upcoming show at Fine Line on February 13th. Refunds will be automatically sent to ticketholders.
We are so sorry for the pain your city is experiencing. Minneapolis is always the place we most look forward to playing on our US visits, and the violence you are enduring right now is senseless and heartbreaking.
At the moment, touring in the US is not the same for us as it once was, and we are trying our best to make decisions we feel are most respectful of everyone’s safety as the utmost priority. We know things are changing quickly on the ground from day to day and we hope with all our hearts things will improve very soon, but it wouldn’t be fair to you or the amazing team and community at First Avenue to wait until the last minute to make this call.
We love you very much, and we hope to see you again very soon.
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