Phoenix Bands to Feel the Bern at Fundraiser at Rebel Lounge

For those who want to “feel the Bern” with a veritable who’s who of local talent, Saturday, February 6, will be everything you could want and a little bit more as Sacred Reich and friends have a little fundraiser for the Presidential candidate from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix.

Regardless of where you stand politically, the show, which was put together initially by Phil Rind of longtime Valley metal heroes Sacred Reich, will be a stunner. Formed in 1985, Sacred Reich has maintained a limited local presence over the past decade with heavy emphasis on playing the festival circuit in Europe during the summers. Rind, who has never shied away from making a strong political statement (remember the band’s epic 1988 EP, Surf Nicaragua, with badass artwork by one of the world’s best tattoo artists, Paul Stottler?) is excited about helping support Sanders.

“I support Bernie Sanders because he has stood up for working people his whole political career. He has real convictions, not opinions that change with the latest poll numbers. We need the government to work for all the people not just corporations and wealthy campaign contributors,” Rind says.

While it is unknown how Sanders feels about heavy metal music (despite many people's efforts to prescribe them), the show has a wide variety of artists on the bill with, at times, wildly differing styles, which would seemingly be right up the self-proclaimed democratic socialist's proverbial alley.

Joining Sacred Reich are Tucson's Carlos Arzate and the Kind Souls, locals Cherie Cherie, Haymarket Squares, Revizor, Barefoot and Pregnant, Mariahchi de Grand Avenue, and some DJ work by Quezo and Hi-Dreams of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra. Even though Sanders was unavailable for comment at this time (he's a little busy right now as he's battling Hillary Clinton for the 2016 democratic presidential nomination), Rind did go on to say, "Bernie has a real vision of America living up to it's promise. He's the only candidate that I trust to address the real issues before us."