Chicago punk band Rise Against is in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 30, to take part in A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota. Announced earlier this week, the show is a benefit for the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minnesotans killed by federal agents since ICE’s operations expanded in the Twin Cities. Joining them on the bill for the afternoon show are organizer Tom Morello, Al Di Meola, Ike Reilly, and a special guest.

This past August, Rise Against released their 10th studio album, Ricochet, expanding upon a body of work focused on resistance and resilience. Frontman Tim McIlrath tells The Current’s weekend host Gannon that he’d be here even if the band wasn’t playing. Their conversation also covers protest songs, and finding the positive elements within a crisis.

For more up-to-the-minute news on what’s happening in Minnesota right now, visit MPR News.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Gannon: You're listening to The Current. I'm Gannon, joined today by Tim McIlrath, lead vocalist and founder of the Chicago punk band, Rise Against. Tim, thank you for being here today.

Tim McIlrath: Thank you for having me.

Gannon: And I say thank you, in both a literal sense, as in, thank you for joining me in this conversation, but also thank you for being here in Minnesota right now. For those who aren't familiar, Rise Against is in Minneapolis today to play A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota at First Avenue, alongside a pretty stacked lineup. Al Di Meola is going to be there, Ike Reilly, and, of course, the legendary former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, all of the above, Tom Morello on the lineup too. Proceeds for this show are going towards the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minnesotans who were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis here in the last couple of weeks. Tim, as someone who's presumably been watching things unfold in Minnesota from afar these last few weeks, I'm curious what was it that compelled you to come to town and show your support in the form of a show?

Tim McIlrath: The language that we speak is music. That's the language that I speak, that Tom speaks. That's our vehicle for change and awareness. It's our chosen vehicle. It's part of the way we can communicate a message most effectively. Here we are in a battle for the soul of the nation. If music can be a part of what's happening out here, if for nothing, other than just to rally and bring people together, then that's an incredible thing. I feel very lucky to be a part of that and honored to be here in what's a really important moment in our country's history.

Gannon: I know you're originally from the Chicago area. Obviously, on a human level, it seems like this is very important to you. The entire lineup there is sort of a kinship, almost like a Midwestern sense of pride. This is not too far up the road from your home city that this is happening. It's happening all across the country too. So I'm curious, is there sort of a extra level of urgency, knowing that it's just right up the road?

Tim McIlrath: Yeah, absolutely. I was born and raised in Chicago. I still live there. For this to be happening in the Midwest, like this. I take it personally. It's already happened in Chicago. It's still happening in Chicago. Chicago has been a target of these federal agents abusing power on our streets and causing chaos. It's happening in Minneapolis now. Minneapolis is a place that my band has played now for 25 years. We've been coming here for a long, long time. We have a kinship with this city, with the artists from this city, with the music history that comes out of this city, which has changed music worldwide that we have a deep reverence for. All of this is so crazy, but to choose this city, to choose Minneapolis as your target, as an example of something that needs to be fought against with violence, for anybody familiar Minneapolis knows just how ludicrous that is. No city is without problems, but to target this city is just shocking to me. Everybody here has always been nice. This is a functional place. This is a place that works. You know what I mean? I don't think that anybody thinks of Minnesota, Minneapolis as somewhere that needs federal intervention.

Gannon: We appreciate that. There's a lot of pride here in Minnesota. I've seen it described as neighborism in a moment like this, this ethos of just sticking up for the people around you. What have you on a personal level, but also as an artist who is familiar with the art of writing protest songs and resistance songs, what are you learning from the people of Minnesota as you watch things unfold here?

Tim McIlrath: You are learning about resilience. You're learning about what people feel compelled to do to answer injustice when they see it. Minneapolis is obviously no stranger to injustice unfolding on its streets. In a lot of ways, that has prepared people to respond. That's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing this overwhelming response that you don't always see it across this country in the last 10 years. I think we were coming to a place where we weren't sure we could count on people to really come out and take to the streets and answer the call. I think Minneapolis is proving that people are ready to answer that call, to defend these streets, and to see that history is unfolding right outside their front door. That's inspiring. I'm outside. You're here. I'm outside watching. This city is inspiring people all over the place. It's incredible to watch, and there's a lot of sympathy for the city, but it's also people knowing if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.

Gannon: In here with Tim McIlrath of the band Rise Against. The band's in town right now to play a show at First Avenue, the Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota. Tim, your band, the discography is rich with songs of protest and resilience and resistance. How do you go about channeling the emotions of frustration, of grief, these very complex feelings, how do you channel that into a protest song? What is that process like for you?

Tim McIlrath: That's a great question. It has happened pretty naturally and organically for our band. If you were to try to channel that, I think that's where you get songs that feel forced or they're kind of awkward or cumbersome. For any songwriter, when you were putting pen to paper, you are being asked to write about the things that you are most passionate about, like in that moment. For our band, those things over the last 25 years, because we're a band that was kind of born in like a just a post-9/11 era, these are the things that that came to mind when we put pen to paper. Without setting out to be a political band or a protest band, it just became that, because this was how we were feeling in the moment. We had no idea if there would be an audience for what that was. Like any art you can just you do it as self-expression. You do something that's authentic to yourself, and then you give it to the world. Then maybe the world responds, and maybe they don't. I think we've been lucky to have a lot of response.

Gannon: It's so interesting. You say the band didn't set out to be a protest band or anything like that, but with the name like Rise Against there's this connotation that comes across. And it's a lot more textured when you sit down with the lyrics. I've spent some of this week just sitting with a lot of the songs in the back catalog for you guys, things like "Prayer of the Refugee" that sounded great when they came out 20 years ago. I know that record is celebrating an anniversary, but still pertinent today. Are there any songs of yours, or perhaps of anyone else's, that are resonating for you right now with everything going on?

Tim McIlrath: So many. I've been thinking a lot about our song, it's more of a deep cut, but it's called "Welcome to the Breakdown" off of our Wolves album. We were writing that in the era of the first Trump election, trying to reconcile what's been happening, what is happening, and how somebody like that could find a position of power in this country. I still go back to the classics, like "Rockin' in the Free World," Neil Young. "Ohio" is such a great protest song. All the way to "Strange Fruit." Just music that became these almost sugar-coated bitter pills. It sounds good. You want to hear the voice and the guitar, the drums, and all of it. And then when you stop and you start finding yourself reciting the lyrics, you're like, "Oh my God, this song is talking about something that's so tragic or something that's so important." I've always loved when music could be that sugar-coated bitter pill. That's some of what Rise Against is trying to do, too.

Gannon: That's a good way to describe it, right? Like, the it, you're able to convey this message, but in a way, that's maybe a little more palatable than a political essay or something like that.

Tim McIlrath: Yeah, it's still got to be good. It's still gotta be a good song or no one's really going to hear it. I've always been attracted to music that was used as a vehicle for change. When music harnesses that, it makes it something even more than music. I came out of a punk and hardcore scene. The first place that I ever heard about issues of environmentalism or sweatshops, or equality. All those things came not from a classroom for me, but from hardcore bands talking about it. This was all kind of mind-blowing to me. When I eventually picked up a guitar, it was almost natural. This is what also flowed out of me to be a part of this, this chain of bands, this legacy of bands.

Gannon: It's interesting. Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna what I was gonna ask about next. Do you feel an obligation and urgency, a deeper calling in yourself to react in moments like this as an artist?

Tim McIlrath: Yeah, there's a little bit of put your money where your mouth is, kind of thing. If we're out here, we're gonna be singing these songs and talking about these things. If we're one day going to be writing a song about what's happening in Minneapolis right now, then how could you not go there today? You're gonna be there to witness it, especially if somebody thinks that what you do can contribute at least a little bit. If music can help people in this moment, then far be it for me to keep that from anybody. So if someone says, "Hey, we think this can help you just come here and just play a few songs." Then absolutely, I want to be there. I feel like I would be here, whether I was playing music or not. When I see the images of people in the streets, coming from cities like Minneapolis or Chicago that know what really cold winters are. I'm not sure the rest of the country understands through their TV screen what that feels like to be outside in January in Minnesota for more than a couple hours.

Gannon: No joke. It's no joke.

Tim McIlrath: So anybody who knows that knows the sacrifice they're making.

Gannon: Yeah, we were at 10 below and thousands of people in downtown Minneapolis last week. That image across the country resonates in a certain way, but especially, like you said, you're from Chicago, you understand that level of bitter cold.

Tim McIlrath: It's serious. And anybody out there I have a lot of respect for, and I'll be out there tomorrow.

Gannon: Well, right on. Here with Tim McIlrath of Rise Against. The band's in town for a show at First Avenue, the Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota alongside Al Di Meola, Ike Reilly, and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Before we part here today, Tim, if you had a quick message to the people of Minnesota, What are you hoping people take away from this show.

Tim McIlrath: We talk a lot about what's wrong in the world today, what's wrong with the federal government today. One thing we don't talk enough about is how amazing our journalists are like yourself. How amazing the protesters are in the streets. How amazing our teachers are who are fighting for academic freedom. There are so many things to be inspired by right now. Minneapolis is meeting the moment. Minnesota is meeting the moment. Chicago met the moment, is still meeting the moment. That is so encouraging. There are terrible things happening in the world, but there are silver linings and slivers of hope. That's really encouraging. We should acknowledge that. Instead of burying our heads in the sand, we are witnessing people fighting for the soul of this nation.

Credits:

Host - Gannon Hanevold

Producer - Derrick Stevens

Technical Director - Evan Clark

Digital Producer - Reed Fischer

External links:

A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota

Rise Against - Official Site