Tom Morello’s “Defend L.A.” benefit concert at the Echoplex on June 16, 2025, was more than a show—it was a full-force call to action. Earlier that day, Morello filmed a music video in Boyle Heights, featuring children and families directly affected by recent ICE raids, standing defiantly against a wall while performing a new protest anthem. “I wanted to humanize the terrible ICE sweeps that are going on now,” he said. “We are in really, really dangerous times.”
The concert raised funds for CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and came together in less than a week, a direct response to escalating federal immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles. The night’s lineup featured Pussy Riot, B‑Real of Cypress Hill, K.Flay, Neighborhood Kids, Shepard Fairey, and George Lopez as host—each bringing urgency to a packed house.
Onstage, Morello declared, “No one’s coming to save you, except for you. No one’s coming to save us right now, except for us.” He added, “The idea for [ICE] is to try to crush us where we are strongest… L.A. has just said hell no to that.” The crowd erupted in agreement.
“There has never been a successful social movement in this country that has not had a great soundtrack,” he told the audience. “People should realize… freedoms to say what you want, sing what you want, listen to what you want… They’re not carved in stone. They are in peril, right now, today.”
Morello closed the night with a powerful instrumental build-up into “Killing in the Name,” led by a communal chant and preceded by an old Indigenous fighting song. As fists rose and chants echoed, he reminded the audience: “Every act of joy is an act of resistance.”
Tom Morello – Live at the Echoplex (Defend L.A. Concert)
One Man Revolution
Hold the Line
Guerilla Radio (instrumental intro)
Nightwatchman
Rabbit’s Revenge
We Don’t Need You
Whatever It Takes
Union Town
Testify (RATM cover)
Killing in the Name (RATM cover, crowd-led chant outro)
