Last night’s Amnesty Concert at the Barclays Center set out to raise awareness of human rights violations at the hands of repressive regimes around the world and to recruit new members for Amnesty International’s efforts. The lineup included an introduction of formerly imprisoned members of Pussy Riot by Madonna. Imagine Dragons, The Flaming Lips, Ms. Lauren Hill, The Fray, Cold War Kids, Colbie Caillat, Blondie, Tegan & Sarah, Cake, DJ Pat Mahoney, Yoko Ono and Sir Bob Geldof rounded out the bill. Acclaimed Phish (and Justin Bieber) lighting designer Chris Kuroda contributing his expertise to make the stage really come alive for each of the acts. Actress and activist Susan Sarandon indroduced the evening “to remind us that each of us has the power to turn anger into action.” Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were just released from a Russian prison told the crowd that “Freedom is not a given, it is something we have to fight for every day. It is our duty to speak for those who are still behind bars.” The evening had an anti-Putin theme calling out many of his recent questionable human rights violations. Thanks to Rock, Paper Photo and CBGB Productions for enabling me to capture these images to help raise awareness.
