Pop-up concerts try to soothe anxious voters as U.S. goes to polls

A band plays New Orleans music for voters lining up to vote in person at the Fowler School polling station in Tempe, Arizona on Election Day, November 5, 2024. Photo courtesy: AFP

A boisterous DJ plays pop tracks on Tuesday (Nov. 5, 2024), urging voters to dance with dancers in multi-colored sequined shorts – a small effort to calm outside an Arizona polling station election Day Anxiety is rising across the United States.

“I definitely think there is a lot of anxiety around the election,” said Alyssa Bustamante, who was producing the event in Phoenix, the state’s largest city, with the organization Joy to the Polls.

“Dancing definitely relieves stress,” he said. AFP,

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Dressed in all pink on her stage in Phoenix’s Central Park, Ms. Bustamante, 36, repeatedly reminded young people of the nearby university.

“Voting closes at 7pm, make sure you get your vote in!” she shouted.

Except for a nearby polling place, very few people stopped to enjoy the impromptu concert.

But at least many people had smiles on their faces — a very rare sight in an unprecedented presidential campaign in which rival candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris accused each other of endangering the future of American democracy.

On the Republican side, Mr. Trump has survived two assassination attempts, and often makes extremely violent rhetoric about immigrants.

Harris, a Democrat, reminded voters that this election also includes abortion rights.

As a way to address these concerns, music “is a universal language,” Ms. Bustamante said.

“You can be on two different sides of the aisle… music brings people together,” he said. “This does not divide us. And so, I think we need to use it as a tool.

‘positivity’

Ms. Bustamante and her team are traveling around Phoenix hosting small concerts.

They hope to offer a moment of levity in Arizona, where preparation for the election has been particularly stressful.

The “Grand Canyon State” has become the center of election conspiracies since Mr Trump lost to Joe Biden here in 2020 by less than 10,500 votes.

That year, armed protesters protested for several nights in front of a county elections center in central Phoenix, where ballots were being counted.

This time, the center has been fortified with concrete barriers and high wire fences, and officials are on high alert.

Last week, a man was charged with terrorism after a shooting at the Democratic Party office in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix. no one was hurt.

“It’s these kinds of stories that make us nervous, wondering what’s going to happen in the election,” said DJ Samuel Pena, 40. AFP,

He also travels around Phoenix in a small music truck, part of a different initiative called DJs at the Poles.

The group is working in 20 different states across the country on Election Day, he said.

Pena said he will remain alert and vigilant on Tuesday (Nov. 5, 2024), adding, “My back is up against the wall because of these stories.”

“Elections are stressful no matter what side you’re on,” he said. “So, we’re just trying to create positivity for people who want to participate and vote.”