ROBOTOWELCOME!, the fundraising concert Zedd organized to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, takes place tonight at L.A.’s Staples Center, and will stream on Zedd’s YouTube channel starting at 10 p.m. ET. The lineup for the show is quite diverse, and Zedd says that’s the whole point.
Tonight’s concert includes Daya, Halsey, Bebe Rexha, Camila Cabello, Machine Gun Kelly, Macklemore, Imagine Dragons and more. “It was important for me not to create a deejay festival because the whole [theme] of welcoming everybody…same thing goes for the lineup,” Zedd tells ABC Radio.
“I didn’t want it to be just one genre, I wanted it to be rock and hip-hop and electronic music and pop,” he adds. “So I tried to make it as diverse as I could within the two days I had to get everybody together!”
In fact, he notes, “This is a great moment to say a big thank you to all the artists who decided to be a part of this…some of them only had, like, a few hours to tell me whether they were in or not!”
While the show was inspired by the controversy over President Trump’s travel ban, Zedd wants people know that “the ACLU’s not anti-Trump.” He explains, “The ACLU is pro everybody’s liberties and rights.”
Zedd admits he’s faced criticism for organizing the show, but he believes that as an artist, he’s got a responsibility to use his platform wisely.
“Not everybody who has a kid planned to have a kid, but once you have [one], you’re responsible for it, whether you sign up for it or not,” he tells ABC Radio. “So…I feel responsible for using my voice in the right way, even though I just wanted to make music, and didn’t necessarily sign up to speak up.”
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