During Alabama Shakes‘ sublime set at Ohana Festival on Saturday in Dana Point, California, frontwoman Brittany Howard paused the show to deliver a brief commentary on hope and solidarity amid nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have devasted communities across the United States. Howard, who wore a billowing white gown and an “ICE OUT” pin prominently attached to her guitar strap, addressed the thousands gathered in the heart of Orange County’s conservative enclave. Howard’s words echoes Alabama Shakes’ first new record in 11 years, I Must Be Dreaming, which finds the band reckoning with the social and political shakeups that have happened over the past decade — alongside the beauty found in the everyday.
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