The return of Brand New has been a wildly controversial move for the band, quite specifically due to frontman Jesse Lacey’s alleged history of… as Protest the Hero vocalist Rody Walker puts it… “grooming children.”
During a recent show, Walker took a second to address the crime of sexually violating children, saying to the crowd: “People love to call other people pedophiles. Politicians do it all the time—especially conservative politicians. They love to be like, ‘This person’s a pedophile, that person’s a pedophile,’ but nobody does anything about real pedophilia.”
He then took very specific aim at Lacey, asking, “Why is anyone going to see Brand New? Motherfucker was grooming children. He should not be afforded the stage he used to groom children.”
It was back in 2017 that Lacey first came under fire over allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor. These claims effectively ended Brand New, but nothing gold can stay.
Brand New Played Secret Shows in 2024
Lacey did some solo secret shows last year and, eventually, the rest of the band joined him. Now, they are fully back, and it seems they have retained enough fans who are not put off by Lacey’s past behavior and who want to see the band live.
For legal reasons, I have to state that I am not joining Walker in advocating for the boycott or protest of any Brand New shows. Completely unrelated: the full list of dates and venues hosting concerts for Brand New’s 2025 reunion tour is below.
05/30 Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
05/31 Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
06/03 Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
06/04 Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
06/05 San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park
06/07 West Valley City, UT @ Maverik Center
06/08 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
06/09 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
06/12 Austin, TX @ Moody Center
06/13 Houston, TX @ NRG Arena
06/15 Atlanta, GA @ Synovus Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
06/16 Saint Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
06/17 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
06/19 Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
06/20 Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
06/21 Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
06/23 Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion
06/24 Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live! – Outdoor
06/25 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE – Outdoors
06/27 Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena
06/28 Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
06/29 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
07/01 Philadelphia, PA @ TD Pavilion at the Mann
07/02 Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena
The post Protest the Hero Called Out Brand New’s Jesse Lacey for ‘Grooming Children’ at Recent Show appeared first on VICE.
