Arcade Fire to receive a prize for their commitment in Haiti

The Canadian band Arcade Fire will receive the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award on 2 April for their active support to the Haitian population.

The Allan Waters Humanitarian Award is a recognition that the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gives every year since 2006 to Canadian musicians that during the year have made significant social and humanitarian efforts. On 2 April 2016 the Arcade Fire are going to receive it.

We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s recipient of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, sponsored by Bell Media,…

Posted by The JUNO Awards on Wednesday, 24 February 2016

 

The Canadian indie rock band started to aid the Haitian population in 2006: once become supporters of the NGO Partners In Health (PIH), the Arcade Fire took to heart the Haitian situation and donated one dollar for every concert ticket they sold to give medical assistance to the people living in poverty in the island (the artists who participated in the initiative include The National, Chvrches, Metric and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis).

The band’s efforts intensified after the 2010 devastating (magnitude 7) earthquake that hit the island destroying homes, schools, streets and killing more than 220,000 people.

 

Régine Chassagne – the band’s multi-instrumentalist and singer born in Montreal to Haitian parents who fleed François Duvalier’s dictatorship – co-founded the charity KANPE (meaning “support” in Haitian Creole), that exclusively operates in Haiti.

 

arcade fire
Win Butler and Régine Chassagne at a charity event for Haiti, January 2012, Los Angeles. © GettyImages

 

In occasion of the 2010 Super Bowl, Win Butler and the other members of the band decided to license their song Wake Up for a series of commercials of the American National Football League. The proceeds were donated to charities.

 

Over the years the band collected more than nine million dollars and they are still active supporters of the cause: on 19 February of this year, for example, they held a benefit concert in Canada and hosted on stage a few musicians including David Byrne, with whom they played some of the Talking Heads’ songs.

 

David Byrne and part of Arcade Fire #kanpe @kanpe_foundation #davidbryne #arcadefire @djwindows98 #mtlmoments #montreal @music #MHPoffbeat

Un video pubblicato da Susan Moss (@susanmossphotography) in data:


As regard the prize, Régine Chassagne said:

It is an honour. We are very thankful. It helps us continue the work for the Haitian people in need.

Cover image © mybandnews.com

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