Last summer, Black Veil Brides was one of many bands and musicians who made an artistic statement in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. They recorded a beautiful cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “American Skin (41 Shots)” (a popular choice at the time) and released it for free on its own web page.
Like most artists’ statements at the time, it got a fair bit of attention… at the time.
Here’s what’s different about BVB: that wasn’t just a one-off cover. They continue to perform “American Skin” on stage to this day (literally–they performed it last night as I write this).
They even play it acoustically at times, and it’s their virtual radio tour performance for Cincinnati’s WEBN that caught my attention recently. As powerful and angry as “American Skin” is when plugged in, it’s poignant and mournful when performed acoustically, especially in the Brides’ haunting all-strings arrangement. I found myself captivated by their performance.
It’s great to see artists keeping the fight for racial justice front and center in their conversations with their audience. If only it didn’t still need to be there.
This was very good