Stipe to headline 'Bring 'Em Home' concert

NEW YORK (AP) — Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe will headline a New York concert to urge the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The "Bring 'Em Home Now!" concert will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 20, the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Rufus Wainwright and Bright Eyes also will perform, it was announced Wednesday.

Rock band R.E.M. is based in Athens, Ga. ...

Sheehan, who camped outside President Bush’s ranch in Texas last year to protest the Iraq war, will speak during the concert. Her 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Chuck D, Fischerspooner, Peaches, Steve Earle and Devendra Banhart also are scheduled to perform.
"It is impossible not react to the current state of affairs through personal action and artistic production," Casey Spooner of Fischerspooner said in a statement.

Organizers said the concert will be followed by a national "Bring 'Em Home Now!" speaking tour that will feature Sheehan and various authors traveling to 15 U.S. cities in April.

Posted by David Bill at February 23, 2006 01:27 PM