Black Keys Support Pussy Riot by Vowing to Never Play Russia

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney has announced that the band is boycotting Russia by refusing to ever play there in the wake of Friday’s guilty verdict for three members of Pussy Riot. A two-year sentence was handed down for the members of the controversial Russian feminist punk band on charges of hooliganism after performing a “punk prayer” in protest of Russian Vladimir Putin in February at a Russian church.

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney took to Twitter to make the announcement. ”FYI. We will never being [sic] playing a show in Russia as long as they imprison innocent musicians for speaking their minds peacefully,” he wrote in the post. With the announcement, the Black Keys join a slew of Western musicians showing their support for Pussy Tiot.

Indie and alternative artists as varied the Beastie Boys, Bjork, Peaches and Red Hot Chili Peppers have spoken out for the band, with singer Anthony Kiedis one of the first to bring widespread attention to the cause in July when he wore a Pussy Riot T-shirt during a Chili Peppers concert in Moscow. Last week, Peaches unveiled an indie star-studded video for the tune ‘Free Pussy Riot’ and also launched an online petition which now has more than 100,000 signatures in support of their plight.