Rise Against Added To Lineup For Arts, Beats & Eats

ROYAL OAK, MI — Organizers of the Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats festival announced Friday that they have added rock band Rise Against as the headliner on the Michigan Lottery National Stage on the third day of the Labor Day-weekend festival.

At 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 5, Rise Against will close out a nigh of entertainment that also includes: Mac Watts (6:30 p.m.), Frank Ray (7:30 p.m.) and Justin Moore (9 p.m.). Laith Al-Saadi, who had been scheduled to perform on Sept. 5, has been moved to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 6, organizers announced.

After being canceled in 2020, Arts, Beats & East announced its lineup earlier this month, but its 10:15 p.m. slot on Sept. 5 was listed as TBA.

Though the three other artists performing that night are country acts, Rise Against has been described as punk, or even "philosophical punk," by The Guardian for being "vegan singers who sing, shout and scream about the rights of both humans and animals." Phoenix New Times said the band also has addressed topics like environmentalism and the evils of capitalism.

From Chicago, Rise Against has been making music for 22 years and recently released Nowhere Generation, its ninth studio album. Phoenix New Times said album features songs about community, rallying around positivity and holding each other accountable.

"We finished this record before the pandemic, but the lyrics are certainly applicable to the pandemic," Rise Against co-founder and bassist Joe Principe told Phoenix New Times. "It's a record that, instead of trying to provide a solution, or how we always give a sense of hope on our records, it's instead like, 'We don't have to have all the answers.' But, we can certainly sing along in solidarity with just how hard it is to have your head above water these days."