Vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means were gearing up for their big comeback as the band The Format in January. But just as their new album was being released, Alex Pretti was killed on the streets of Minneapolis. Like many artists and musicians around the country and the world, Means and Ruess were shaken by what they were seeing on the news — and they wanted to use their creative powers to act.
The band directed proceeds from its new single “The Bar is Set So Low,” an emotionally stirring and extremely catchy political anthem, to three Minnesota nonprofits: Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Immigrant Rapid Response Fund, Immigrant Defense Network and the Advocates for Immigrant Rights, plus Latino Memphis. They also sell a long-sleeved T-shirt, with sales going to support the same nonprofits.
This weekend, the band plays a free afternoon show at First Avenue as part of its Saturdays in the Park series, featuring an acoustic set and tabling by local nonprofits…