Alternative rock group Good Charlotte will headline a benefit concert in Annapolis, Maryland in honor of the five employees killed in the attack at the Capital Gazette last month.
On June 28, Jarrod Ramos, a man who had a grudge against the newspaper, brought a gun into the newsroom and killed employees John McNamara, Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen, Rebecca Smith and Gerald Fischman. He is now in jail for five counts of first-degree murder.
Mayor Gavin Buckley, who became mayor last year, said that this is a “horrible tragedy that cannot be forgotten.”
“Sadly, our country’s attention will soon shift from this event that has forever changed our city,” Buckley said in a statement. “We will not stand by and allow the memory of these slain journalists to be forgotten. We also stand up for our journalists and our freedom of the press and this concert is just one step in that direction.”
The benefit concert, dubbed “Annapolis Rising: A Benefit for The Capital Gazette and Free Press,” is set to take place on July 28 on College Avenue with the Maryland State House in the background and will include musical performances as well as speakers in the journalism community. The only scheduled performer as of right now is Good Charlotte. City spokeswoman Susan O’Brien said that she hopes to recruit Beyonce, who will be playing a concert in Baltimore the same day.
“I don’t know what we can bring to it, other than we just want to be involved in supporting the city,” Benji Madden of Good Charlotte told the Capital Gazette of the fest. “Obviously, we’re all shocked [from the shooting]. We’re all kind of speechless. These are moments when you really don’t know what to do to help.”
Good Charlotte, which includes brothers Joel and Benji Madden, said in an interview with Associated Press that they are proud to return to their roots and pay tribute to the community. The twin brothers grew up i Waldorf, Maryland and explained how they remembered going to Annapolis at 18 to pursue their musical careers.
“I feel everything starts at home, it starts in your community and this is the place in Maryland that we come from,” Joel Madden told AP. “This is the place we go back to. We feel very, very deeply connected to Annapolis and it’s a very important place to us. It’s very important for us to show up for the city.”
“If we can help support an event that will be uplifting for the families of the victims and the tragedy as a whole, it feels really important to be a part of that,” Benji Madden added.
Ticket information will be released in the coming days.