Bruce Springsteen, The Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt are among the artists who have embarked on the high profile Vote For Change tour which will now stage concerts in 36 cities in nine 'electoral swing states' in a bid to persuade US voters to vote against Bush in the forthcoming presidential elections. The tour will culminate on 11 Oct in Washington DC.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine about his involvement in the tour, Springsteen said that Bush had been "fundamentally dishonest" in launching war on Iraq, adding: "It made me angry... I felt we had been misled. I felt they had been fundamentally dishonest and had frightened and manipulated the American people into war."
Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, very familiar with the dangers of speaking out against Bush, has told reporters: "There's never been a political climate like this, which is so the polar opposite of me as a person and what I believe in."
Proceeds from Vote for Change concerts will be donated to America Coming Together (ACT), a group which aims to motivate voters into defeating Bush in the 2 Nov election.