Indie pop rockers Vampire Weekend are Iowa-bound on a mission to help Bernie Sanders convert a few unbelievers ahead of Monday’s long-awaited caucuses.
The New York City-based band, minus recently departed founding member Rostam Batmanglij, will perform at a rally in Iowa City on Saturday night, their first live show since August of 2014 and their debut as a three-piece group.
Co-founder and frontman Ezra Koenig confirmed the date on Twitter late Wednesday morning, saying he was “going to Iowa this weekend to support @BernieSanders.”
“Performance will be me, [Chris Tomson], Dave Longstreth, @lucasbros & the U of Iowa Hawkapellas,” Koenig tweeted, “Bernie can call that Vampire Weekend if he likes,” adding that the band — along with Longstreth, the lead singer of Dirty Projectors — would also “try and figure out a place to go talk & play some VW and Dirty Projectors songs in Iowa City outside the main event.”
The supergroup will be co-headlining at the University of Iowa Field House with Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike, one of Sanders’ most vocal supporters, and Foster the People, another popular indie band. Actor Josh Hutcherson and Kenny and Keith Lucas, the brothers behind FXX’s animated comedy “Lucas Bros. Moving Co.” are also slated for appearances, according to Sanders’ website.
The Vermont senator has received some high-profile entertainment industry endorsements — actor Mark Ruffalo, who starred with Hutcherson in the 2010 film “The Kids Are All Right,” is a frequent booster — but has so far failed to match the wattage attached to Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton.
Pop stars Katy Perry, whose “Roar” is a staple of Clinton campaign events, performed it live alongside the candidate in Iowa last October. The singer and actor Demi Lovato, like “Girls” star and creator Lena Dunham, also recently completed a series of appearances at Clinton campaign events.