Satanic Planet, comprised of Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido de la Frontera), Justin Pearson (The Locust, Dead Cross, Swing Kids, Deaf Club), and Lucien Greaves (The Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson), and more, has announced plans to perform at state capitols throughout the US in protest of those state's allowing Christian performances onsite.
Says Satanic Planet frontperson Lucien Greaves, “[Sean] Feucht is openly a theocrat who courts the attention of politicians and seeks to proselytize through his performances. He has his opinions, and we have ours, but one thing the government can not do is preference his viewpoint over ours by giving him exclusive access to perform a concert on the Capitol grounds. That stage is every bit as much ours as it is his, so, in the name of pluralism and religious liberty, there are some state capitols that are likely soon to be hosting Satanic Planet shows.”
"According to law, the government must remain neutral regarding religious viewpoints when granting permission to parties seeking to take advantage of public accommodations. For this reason, the fact that public representatives have allowed Feucht to perform openly Christian Nationalist events within state capitol buildings, leaves little in the way of a legal rationale whereby Satanic Planet might be denied."
Adding:
"We will not be able to sell tickets to the capitol grounds, we will surely draw protests, the stage and sound will likely be difficult, and the cost will not be insignificant. That said, however, we can not stand by idly as theocratic extremists are given such an elevated public platform to spread their divisive message without reminding everybody that that stage is equally theirs as well. Feucht seeks to use the stage to announce a theocratic stranglehold over the United States government, and we seek to rectify that by re-establishing pluralism.”
The band has submitted a request to perform at the Indiana State Capitol on August 12. If requests are denied, any funds raised will be put toward legal battles related to the cause, the band says. Learn more.
Satanic Planet released Let Us Burn in 2021.
