Prince lines up Baltimore peace gig

Prince will play a show in Baltimore this weekend at an event set up to unify the public following the death of Freddie Gray.

Rally 4 Peace will be held at the city’s Royal Farms Area on May 10 and comes after authorities lifted a city-wide curfew imposed following the death of Gray.

The 25-year-old died in police custody last month after suffering injuries at some point between his arrest and his arrival at hospital. His death sparked protests, leading to a state of emergency being declared in the city.

Prince will be joined at the event by his backing band 3rd Eye Girl and “several industry superstars” will join him on stage.

An event organiser tells Rolling Stone: “In a spirit of healing, the event is meant to be a catalyst for pause and reflection following the outpouring of violence that has gripped Baltimore and areas throughout the US.

“As a symbolic message of our shared humanity and love for one another, attendees are invited to wear something grey in tribute to all those recently lost in the violence.”

Last week, Prince revealed he’d written a track titled Baltimore. It’s still to be released but he shared the lyrics online.

Some of the proceeds from ticket sales will go towards Baltimore youth charities.

Dragonforce were forced to postpone their gig in the city last month when the state of emergency was declared.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.