Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile raised more than $221,000 for Human Concern International’s relief efforts in Palestine, Sudan and Lebanon with a free concert at the Washington Monument on October 24, the band’s biggest show to date, per pitchfork.com.
The National Park Service estimated around 60,000 people attended the 3pm show on the National Lawn in Washington, D.C. The first two fans in line arrived at 5am. Turnstile had set a fundraising target of $150,000; the official LaunchGood page had passed $221,000 as of publication.
Mid-set, frontman Brendan Yates thanked the crowd for supporting the cause, saying the band was grateful to have been raised by a scene that taught them “music not only reflects the artist making it but the people and the world and the suffering and the joy that surrounds it.” He then led a chant: “Loud enough for the White House to hear it: Free Palestine! Free Sudan! Free Lebanon!”
The concert concluded Turnstile’s second North American tour in support of their Grammy-winning album Never Enough. It follows a 2025 free hometown show in Baltimore’s Wyman Park Dell, funded out of pocket by the band, which raised over $35,000 for Health Care for the Homeless.
The benefit adds to a landmark year for the band. In February, they won their first two Grammy Awards, Best Rock Album for Never Enough and Best Metal Performance for “Birds,” becoming the first act nominated across the rock, metal and alternative categories. In August, they released a remix album featuring Elton John, Panda Bear, Hayley Williams, Oklou, Slayyyter and Chanel Beads, among others. This month, they made their Saturday Night Live debut, the first hardcore group to play Studio 8H since 1981.
The year has also brought difficulties. In March, former guitarist Brady Ebert was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly hitting Yates’s father, William Yates, with his car; William Yates was hospitalised with severe leg trauma. The band parted ways with Ebert in 2022, citing “a consistent pattern of harmful behaviour.”
Turnstile have forthcoming festival dates lined up, including Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in November and Primavera Sound’s 2027 bill.