Local Musicians Unite for Gun Control Awareness at Guild Hall

On Thursday, August 9, local musicians and distinguished guests will come together to tackle an extremely polarizing issue in the U.S. today: gun control.

In an effort to raise awareness and funds for Moms Demand Action, a charitable wing of the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Guild Hall will host a series of speakers close to the cause followed by performances by local bands and a singular art installment.

Moms Demand Action was founded by stay-at-home mom Shannon Watts in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. The organization is now a leading force for gun violence prevention, with chapters in all 50 states.

Starting at 6 p.m. in Guild Hall’s Cheryl and Michael Minikes Garden, attendees will listen to several speakers, including student activists, local residents, former New York City District Attorney Jackie Hilly and Paul Guttenberg, whose niece was a victim of the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The event will then move into the John Drew Theater at 8 p.m. for live performances by local bands The Sectionals, Big Karma and Earthreal. A voter registration booth will be set up during the concert in an effort to promote participation in the midterm elections.

In the lobby, artist Eileen Boxer will exhibit a single work from her activist project, Report US, for which Boxer received the prestigious Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award in 2016.

The piece on display is a large volume, hand-bound book with red end papers that leave residual red dye on the readers’ hands. Each volume of the project contains excerpts from reports on gun violence that amount to over 1,000 incidents per week in the US.

The entire event will be filmed as a documentary by Oscar Award-winning filmmaker Nigel Noble for future use and continued gun violence awareness.

Ticket prices range from $15 to $40 (or $13 to $38 for Guild Hall Members) and can be purchased at the box office, guildhall.org, or by calling 631-324-4050. Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton.

To learn more about Moms Demand Action, visit momsdemandaction.org. To learn more about Eileen Boxer’s work, visit report-us.org.