At one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country, MUNA used one of their most powerful songs to highlight the fight for a free Palestine.
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“We wanted to say tonight that a huge part of being queer for us is feeling tied up in the collective liberation of people all over the world from colonialism and capitalism and racial violence,” said lead singer Katie Gavin, before passing the mic to her bandmate Naomi McPherson.
“If there’s a good reason to open your phones it’s for this,” McPherson said, as a QR code appeared on the screen behind them and the audience responded with cheers an applause. They proceeded to explain that the link led to Palestine Asdiqa, a Palestinian-led initiative that is boosting fundraisers for Gazans who have been impacted by Israel’s ongoing siege and bombardment of the Gaza Strip. In addition to bringing attention to crowdfunding campaigns and mutual aid funds, the organization pairs volunteers with families in Gaza that have GoFundMes, as the fundraising platform is only usable in 19 countries, meaning that any crowdfunds for people in Palestine have to be routed through a third party in one of the eligible countries.
“They’re boosting and platforming voices on the ground in Gaza who need your help, so please donate if you can,” said McPherson who was wearing a shirt that said “Queer as in Free Palestine.” The band then launched into “I Know a Place,” MUNA’s 2016 hit. The song was originally written as a tribute to an imaginary safe space for LGBTQ+ people, which they envisioned as a dance club; though the song was written before the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the metaphor became all the more resonant after it. Then, at LA Pride, the lyrics gained yet another layer of meaning.
“I know a place we can go / Where everyone gonna lay down their weapon,” the band sang during the chorus, as the QR code for Palestine Asdiqa remained projected behind them.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, MUNA posted a photo of the band’s festival outfits, captioning it, “happy pride, queers. was fun to play la pride last night.”
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“let there be meaning in our subversion,” they wrote, urging their followers once again to donate to one of the GoFundMes that Palestine Asdiqa is platforming.
The band previously signed onto the Queer Artists for Palestine open letter in December, which called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and pledged to boycott performances in Israel “until Palestinians are free.”
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