Why Are the Black Keys Playing an ‘America Loves Crypto’ Show?

The Black Keys return home this week to play a intimate, free, first-come first-served show at the Akron Civic Theatre on Oct. 25.

The occasion?

A stop in support of The America Loves Crypto Tour, which has unleashed free concerts in five other swing states (featuring Chainsmokers, Lauv, Big Sean, Jessie Murph, 070 Shake, and Black Pumas) this fall “to rally the 5 million crypto owners that might just decide the 2024 election.”

We last heard from the Akron natives this past summer when they unceremoniously canceled their North American arena tour after lackluster ticket sales unbefitting said venue capacities torpedoed the International Players Tour and precipitated a split with the band’s management.

So, in that regard, it might not be surprising that when crypto world came calling with a payday, Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach asked how fast they could sign up.

Fan reaction has been unkind, to say the least, judging by the Black Keys subreddit, replies on the band’s Instagram announcement before comments were turned off, and responses to a weekend story from Stereogum. Fans seem to think it’s a bad look in general given the organizer and especially problematic given the current political landscape in the Buckeye state.

Crypto PACs have dumped tens of millions of dollars into ads in Ohio during this campaign season and might make it the most expensive Senate race in history, pushing hard for Republican candidate and known-doofus Bernie Moreno and against Senator Sherrod Brown, whose role as chair of the Senate Banking Committee gives him immense power in the regulation of the industry.

Moreno has long been a champion of cyrpto while Brown has remained a skeptic of digital currencies.

“The FTX collapse showed how dangerous crypto can be,” he said in Sept. 2023. “But FTX wasn’t the only bad apple. It was just the most explosive example of the problems in crypto: failure to provide real disclosure, the conflicts of interest, the risky bets with customer money that was supposed to be safe… For consumers, it adds up to billions of dollars.”

Carney and Auerbach have previously said they “try not to be too political,” and though they’ve dropped comments in interviews and podcasts that tend to scan as liberal, they’re also big Joe Rogan fans. So who knows.

Is there nuance to be had in their support of America Loves Crypto? Do they just need money? Do they not realize the crypto target on Sherrod Brown? Do they not care? Do they think a supremely unpopular former car salesman who stirs anti-immigrant and anti-trans fear while licking Donald Trump’s ass should be a sitting Senator?

Questions we likely won’t get answers to, but at least they found an audience to play in front of this year after all.

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