On Saturday (February 1), presidential candidate Bernie Sanders orchestrated a campaign rally in Iowa and supporters got a free Vampire Weekend show out of it.
Vampire Weekend performed a mix of classics and new songs and even did a lightning round with the audience where the band took fan requests. Vampire Weekend kicked things off with “Harmony Hall” then played seven more full songs including, “Unbelievers,” “M79,” Sunflower,” and "Gold Rush.”
When it came time to fan requests, the crowd did not disappoint. On top of playing shorter versions of songs like “California English Pt. 2,” “2021,” and “Diane Young,” Vampire Weekend also performed the song Ezra Koenig wrote for Peter Rabbit and a cover of Thin Lizzy's “The Boys Are Back In Town.”
“I don’t expect everyone to agree with us but the idea of an actual fan ditching us cuz we’re back out supporting the same candidate we played three rallies for in 2016 is just hilarious. Godspeed to those strange people,” Koenig tweeted following the rally.
This isn't the first time Vampire Weekend has shown its support for the presidential candidate. Back in 2016, the band previously performed in Iowa at a rally for Sanders marking the members' first time coming out to publicly support a candidate and play a rally.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate,” Koenig said at the time. “We don't see people like this all the time. We don't see people who have been saying the same thing over and over again. Thank god we have YouTube, we can go back and watch Bernie's speeches, 1991 what's he saying? Same thing he's saying today.”
If you don't want to attend a political rally to see the band, the Father of the Bride Tour kicks off in May and goes through the beginning of October. The band will also be hitting the stage at a few festivals this summer.
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