Australian rock outfit Death Bells will headline a benefit concert at Hotel Congress this Saturday, Feb. 8, to help aid the indigenous communities impacted by the bushfires raging in its home country.
The band is currently based in Los Angeles, but its members grew up in Sydney, the most populous city in the Australian state of New South Wales.
As of Monday, fires burning throughout New South Wales, its neighboring state of Victoria and Australia’s capital, Canberra, had burned more than 26 million acres, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and claimed 33 lives, according to the Associated Press.
For Death Bells’ lead vocalist Will Canning and guitarist Remy Veselis, the blazes have been hard to take.
“The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, where I spent a large part of my childhood, have been ravaged by the fires,” Canning said.
“That’s the difficult part for me.”
Matt Baquet, talent buyer and director of HOCO Fest, helped plan the benefit concert. Baquet and Canning are friends through previous Death Bells visits to town.
Canning had been visiting family in Australia and had expressed to Baquet in conversation that the fires were devastating to watch. They planned the concert via text.
“I think it’s a testament to how great the music scene is to Tucson when Matt reached out to us, wanted to see if he could help in any way,” Veselis said.
Baquet said holding a fundraiser at Congress was an easy decision.
“It was a natural fit to bring them back to do it again for Australia,” Baquet said.
All proceeds raised will go to the Fire Relief Fund for First Nations Communities.
“To help out in some small way with the help of the Arizona music scene is really special,” Veselis said. “We both are looking forward to coming down.”
Death Bells’ sound is a mix of new wave ’80s and an indie-like groove with dark lyrics to match its hardcore punk name.
The band has a new album in the works for late 2020, coming out on Dais Records.
Baquet hopes that the concert will bring a firsthand perspective and awareness of the fires to a Tucson audience.
“I think the connection to someone actually from Australia will help make this event just that much more substantial, that much more real-feeling,” Baquet said.
“What’s happening there could be happening in California …it’s not just about raising money.”
