Nile Rodgers and Chic are giving away free tickets to their upcoming show in Washington D.C. to federal government employees that are either furloughed or working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown.
Chic are set to play the MGM National Harbor, just outside D.C., January 26th. The group has put aside 600 tickets for furloughed government workers, who can apply via a request form. The first 300 applicants will each receive two tickets to the show.
“Like many people, I’m frustrated by what’s happening and my heart goes out to these incredibly hard-working people who provide important service to our country, yet have had their lives, disrupted by circumstances, not of their doing,” Rodgers said in a statement. “As a two-time cancer survivor, I believe music has a tremendous power and this is a small gesture I can make to provide some joy and healing. In one of my biggest songs I wrote, ‘We Are Family, I’ve got all my sisters with me,’ I consider all of these people to be my brothers and sisters and I hope this lets them know that we are 100 percent behind them.”
Rodgers and Chic’s D.C. stop is one of several special headlining shows that the group will play as they spend the next few months touring the U.S. with Cher. Chic released their latest album, It’s About Time, last September. The record marks the band’s first since 1992’s Chic-ism.