Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile<\/strong> is firmly opposed to HB2, but takes a different approach. Characterizing the law as \u201c thinly veiled legislation … that permits the discrimination of my LGBTQ brothers and sisters in NC,\u201d she wrote that \u201cto cancel my shows in NC would further oppress my fans who are hurt by this legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike Springsteen and Carlile, music artists based in North Carolina often depend upon gigs in their home state for their livelihood. Many would like to see HB2 repealed. The first Stand Against HB2 show took place at the Haw River Ballroom near Chapel Hill, and raised \u201ca little over $20,000,\u201d says organizer Mike Allen<\/strong>. \u201cYou don’t have to be a musician to help,\u201d he points out. Allen volunteered to steward the concert series, designating funds raised to benefit Equality NC. \u201cI’m not a musician. I’m just a guy. And I want my state back.\u201d<\/p>\n Equality NC is the Raleigh-based political arm of the Equality NC Foundation, a nonprofit that raises awareness about issues affecting the state’s LBGTQ community. But the adverse effects of HB2 extend well beyond that community, says Matt Hirschy<\/strong>, the organization’s Director of Advancement. He calls HB2 \u201ca bill that has cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue, whether that be tax revenue, spending or earned revenue from events.\u201d Hirschy describes Equality NC’s mission to \u201cadvocate, elect, and educate North Carolinians to a pro-equality mindset. Show proceeds go directly to those efforts as we move into [elections in] November.\u201d<\/p>\n Hirschy appreciates the varying principled stands musicians are taking on the hot-button topic of HB2. \u201cAt the end of the day, the artists who come from out of state to either perform here or choose to boycott the state are doing so because they very clearly feel strongly about the issue,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a very serious decision for folks like Bruce Springsteen to make a call and cancel their show. But I also support artists who want to come here, and play here and invest in groups that are working to make North Carolina a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"brett_harris_by_Audrey\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/brett_harris_by_Audrey.jpg\")
“I was on tour when HB2 was passed and signed into law,\u201d says Brett Harris<\/strong>, a featured performer at the upcoming Asheville concert and veteran of two other Stand Against HB2 shows. \u201cIt was a very strange thing to witness that happening in a place I’ve called home for 15-plus years now. This bill \u2013 in concert with other pieces of legislation passed in the last 3 or 4 years \u2013 makes me feel alienated from [the state].\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"stephanie_morgan2\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/stephanie_morgan2.jpg\")
The Stand Against HB2 concert at the Orange Peel was a marathon event \u2013 3 p.m. until midnight \u2013 and featured more than fifteen NC performers, including Asheville-based artists Gary Jules<\/strong>, Fireside Collective<\/strong>, and \u2013 in her first post-