Here's some great music merch to buy to support artists with canceled tour dates
As COVID-19 continues to spread (get well soon, Tom Hanks!), a growing number of musicians have been forced to cancel or postpone their tour dates out of concern over the pandemic. As artists tend to make most of their money from touring, now would be an opportune time to support your favorite acts — particularly indie artists — by purchasing some merch, as others have pointed out on social.
"Cancelled festivals and shows bc of Coronavirus will be big financial losses for indie artists this year," DJ-producer Dani Deahl tweeted last week. "Please consider buying a piece of merch to support your favorite indie act(s) and help art thrive."
To help you start your search, EW has picked out some particularly cool items you can purchase now. Read on for our recommendations.
Best Coast
If you've ever wanted a lollipop with your music merch bundle, Best Coast have you covered. The rock duo, who have postponed all their tour dates until April, are offering a package deal of their new album Always Tomorrow on CD, a T-shirt, and a bumper sticker, with an extra sweet treat thrown in.
Bikini Kill
The riot grrrl pioneers were scheduled to kick off a North American tour this week in Olympia, Wash., but have postponed all shows in the Pacific Northwest until further notice. You can still get your fix, though, with recently reissued vinyl copies of their albums Pussy Whipped and Reject All American, both long out of print, or vinyl and CD editions of the band's original demo tape, Revolution Girl. The band has also asked fans to donate to Interfaith Works Emergency Overnight Shelter, who provide shelter and services to Olympia's homeless, which the shows in the city were going to benefit.
Blood Orange
With the shape-shifting British musician having canceled his March North American tour, it's a good time to pick up one of his LPs, or perhaps this airbrush-style shirt, a tie-in to his 2018 album Negro Swan.
Chelsea Wolfe
Experimental folk-metal singer-songwriter Wolfe (who was forced to postpone her scheduled European tour in the wake of U.S. travel restrictions) has a variety of great apparel for sale, but our favorite is this intricately designed bandana, great for, say, tying up your hair while you're working from home over the next few weeks.
Jay Som
EW championed Jay Som's 2017 album Everybody Works, so we're somewhat inclined to ask you to help support the bedroom-pop artist, who also had to call off a planned European tour. She has a selection of whimsical merch available, including these two fun tote bags. (Act quickly on those — they're about to sell out.)
The National
The indie rock group, who canceled two planned shows in Tokyo, have a variety of trippy (there's really no better word) posters and T-shirts to choose from. (We're partial to this one.) If you're feeling especially generous, their online store also offers a selection of framed prints by photographer Graham MacIndoe.
Sturgill Simpson
The experimental country artist has canceled or rescheduled several stops on his Good Look’n Tour with Tyler Childers, so while you may not be looking to pick up tour-related merch, Simpson has some other fun apparel on sale, including this (NSFW) one or this eerie selection, a portion of whose proceeds benefit the Special Forces Foundation.
Wilco
The Chicago-based alt-rock act, who have canceled a handful of March and April tour dates, have a vast collection of apparel and other merch on sale, with a superb selection of T-shirts and posters, but might we recommend this set of bobbleheads? They'd be perfect to grace your car dash — once this period of quarantine is over, that is.
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