Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013

American rock band Linkin Park may be known to many across the globe for their hard hitting music, but their charity benefits may be a little under the radar. On a recent visit to the Hard Rock Café Tokyo ahead of their Summer Sonic tour dates, the band announced their collaboration with the Hard Rock brand and the release of limited edition charity t-shirt. Their “Linkin Park Signature Series: Edition 31” will be selling at Hard Rock Café and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino properties around the world—including here in Japan. The band itself has taken action by establishing its own “Music for Relief” organization.
At the press conference for the t-shirt launch held at the Hard Rock Café in Roppongi, band members Mark Shinoda and Chester Bennington explained that the shirt is to raise the consciousness towards areas struck by disasters. “Music for Relief” has supported the disasters in Haiti, Uganda, Oklahoma and in Tohoku after 2011’s tsunami. Purchasing Linkin Park concert tickets is one way to participate in their charity, but as Shinoda stated, “It’s difficult to participate through money.” He and Bennington also explained that everyone and anyone can participate “by knowing what is happening in such places, and by spreading the word.”
www.musicforrelief.org