Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers is a new music collection dropping December 5 on Western Vinyl, bringing together fresh tracks from folks like Dirty Projectors, Daniel Lopatin, Tim Heidecker, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, William Tyler, Lambchop, and Lonnie Holley.
Alan Sparhawk and Benjamin Booker kick off the album with their songs “No More Darkness” and “A Place for Us,” which you can check out below. The project’s goal is to help two Texas organizations, American Gateways and Casa Marianella, who offer things like food, shelter, legal help, and health care to immigrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum.
Tim Heidecker isn’t just sharing a song—he’s also putting on a wild “live variety show and raffle/auction” on his Office Hours call-in show on December 4, all to raise money for the cause. Sometimes, fans just want to see their favorite artists doing good stuff for others.
Organizers Emilie Rex and Rick Alverson asked each artist to create their music in a spot that really feels like home. In their press release, they shared, “Home, as we know it, is under threat. When immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers exercise their human right to safe passage, they defend our ability to do so—and our right to be and feel at home.” They also encouraged everyone to get involved—maybe join a local group, call your representatives, or even have those tough conversations with family.
If you’re into vinyl, there’s a special edition with liner notes by Jason De León and poems from Ross Gay, plus photos by Greg Constantine and cover art from Reena Saini Kallat. Every bit of work that went into making this album was either donated or paid for separately, which is pretty cool. You can grab a pre-order of the LP on Bandcamp.
