By Sarah Weiss
Renowned indie rockers Broken Bells have announced that they are partnering with the B612 Foundation starting with their April West Coast tour. For the duration of their tour, $1 from every concert ticket sold will be donated to help fund B612’s Sentinel Mission of protecting the Earth from impending asteroids and to map future space explorations.
The B612 Foundation is in the process of creating the first comprehensive map of the inner solar system that will warn of potential asteroid-earth collisions, and clear the way for future space exploration.
Broken Bells, which is a collaboration between The Shins’ James Mercer and renowned producer Danger Mouse, a.k.a Brian Burton — who is currently working with U2 on their upcoming studio album — are set to perform at the two Coachella Festival weekends in April. In between the two weekends, they’re set to play at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on April 15.
After the Fonda Theatre concert, Broken Bells and the B612 Foundation will host a star-gazing after party on the rooftop of the venue. Danger Mouse and Mercer will be in attendance, as well as Dr. Marc Buie, the mission specialist on the B612 project, Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut and co-founder of the B612 Foundation.
Buie and Schweickart will also give a presentation highlighting the Sentinel Project and the current dangers surrounding asteroids. After party guests can enjoy a complementary space-themed drink while gazing into the sky with telescopes manned by astronomers at JPL. To purchase tickets for the after party, click here.
In the meantime, check out Broken Bells’ outerspace-themed video starring actress Kate Mara below: