#iVoted is a nationwide voting initiative launched by entrepreneur Emily White, Mike Luba and Pat Sansone of Wilco/The Autumn Defense. In 2018, the organization took over 150 venues across 37 states, allowing fans in for free concerts if they could prove they voted — via a photo of themselves outside their polling place.
Since COVID has kind of canceled live concerts for the time being, #iVoted is going virtual this year with a series of streaming multi-act shows, with themed stages including the Campus Stage, various state-specific stages and a HeadCount Stage with big-name acts including Taking Back Sunday, Trey Anastasio and Billie Eilish.
The digital concerts will take place on Nov. 3, 2020 — the day of the General Election. Shows can be accessed — for free — by RSVPing with a selfie featuring a blank, unmarked mail-in ballot or a photo outside your polling place. (Some states have guidelines for how far you need to be from a polling place to take a photo; Ohio doesn’t.)
If you’re only 13 to 17-years-old or not a U.S. citizen by Election Day, you can still join in the fun by RSVPing, taking a selfie and tagging the @ivotedfestival. AND, if you’ve already cast your ballot before Nov. 3, you can send a selfie outside any early voting location, mailbox or post office. Basically, the whole goal is to encourage people to vote. Vote. Vote. Vote.
You can check out a full list of artists slated to perform and various curated stages at ivotedconcerts.com.
Ohio’s stage currently has locals Blessid Union of Souls, The Heavy Hours and Lung on the line-up, plus others from the Buckeye State.
Shows on the Ohio stage start at 3:55 p.m. Check out the full schedule at ivoted2020.mandolin.com/schedule.
This article appears in The Fall Guide.