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Musicians United for Safe Energy, orMUSE, is anactivist groupfounded in 1979 byJackson Browne,Graham Nash,Bonnie Raitt,Harvey Wasserman andJohn Hall. The group advocatesagainst the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after theThree Mile Island nuclear accident in March 1979. MUSE organized a series of fiveNo Nukes concerts held atMadison Square Garden inNew York in September 1979. On September 23, 1979, almost 200,000 people attended a large rally staged by MUSE on the then-empty north end of theBattery Park Citylandfill in New York.[1][2]
Other musicians performing at the concerts includedCrosby, Stills and Nash,Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,James Taylor,Carly Simon,Chaka Khan,the Doobie Brothers,Jesse Colin Young,Gil Scott-Heron,Tom Petty,Dan Fogelberg,Poco and others. The albumNo Nukes, and a film, also titledNo Nukes, were both released in 1980 to document the performances. A full No Nukes concert featuring Browne and Crosby, Stills & Nash was also filmed near the beach inVentura, California, at theVentura County Fairgrounds, but none of that footage made it into the final cut.
A controversy sparked after the performance of Jamaican reggae singerPeter Tosh wearingPalestinian clothing (thawb andkeffiyeh) and openly smokingmarijuana. Tosh's appearance was considered a provocation towards theJewish community in New York City, as the concerts took place during theNew Year holiday. Despite his performance being advertised to appear in the accompanying film and on the triple live album, Tosh was removed from both releases.[3][4][5]
In the2006 midterm elections, Hall was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives fromNew York's 19th congressional district, on a platform that included intensive investment inalternative energy. He defeated the incumbent,Sue Kelly.
In 2007, Raitt, Nash, and Browne, as part of the No Nukes group, recorded amusic video of theBuffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".[6][7]
Thirty two years after the No Nukes concert in New York, on August 7, 2011, a MUSE benefit concert was held atShoreline Amphitheater inMountain View, CA. to raise money for MUSE and forJapanese tsunami/nuclear disaster relief. Artists included Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, John Hall, Graham Nash,David Crosby,Stephen Stills,Kitaro,Jason Mraz,Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Doobie Brothers,Tom Morello, andJonathan Wilson. The show was poweredoff-grid.