Zedd says all-star ACLU benefit concert is about “standing for something good”

March 9, 2017 Music News Group

ROBOTOZedd has organized an all-star concert called WELCOME!, scheduled for April 3 at the Staples Center in L.A.. The show, a fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union, will feature Daya, Halsey, Camila Cabello, Bebe Rexha, Imagine Dragons and more. The ACLU has been supporting those affected by the Trump administration’s immigration ban, and Zedd says as an immigrant himself, he wanted to throw his support behind the organization.

“I heard about the ACLU first, I think, through Sia or some other artist who tweeted about it,” he tells ABC Radio. “And [we] found out that they’re not just working on this travel ban. They work on a lot of issues, and everybody’s liberties.”

Tickets are on sale now via AXS.com. Zedd says, “You get 13 artists who give up a lot of their time to travel to L.A. to present a concert to people, to give them a good time. But in the first place, people should be seeing this as spreading awareness, standing for something good and donating money.”

Zedd takes issue with those who want him to stay out of politics.

“No matter whether you’re working at a store or….you make music, sing, act or whatever you do, you’re a human being first,” he says. “Everybody has an opinion and a mind that they should be speaking.”

Meanwhile, Zedd has released a new song called “Stay” featuring Alessia Cara. He had her mind for the track in the first place, but after they appeared on the same TV show, he was convinced she was perfect.

“I loved her before but I really saw how talented she was when I saw her sing live,” he recalls. “So…I was like, ‘Hey, would you like to make a song with me? I have something that I think would fit you really well.'”