To say Hynde is an animal rights activist is somewhat of an understatement. Here’s how Newsday.com described The Pretenders’ leader in a recent story: “She was arrested for allegedly knifing a Gap window display that showed off leather and suede clothing. She also protested the Manhattan carriage-horse industry. And - and! - she opened VegiTerranean, a vegan restaurant, in her hometown of Akron, Ohio.”
Hynde told Scotland On Sunday that she's "always surprised when I meet meat eaters. I just think why on earth do you do that? You could put a gun to my head and say, 'If you want to live you have to eat steak', and I'd say, 'Time to go'. I don't want that kind of blood on my soul.”
Live Nation’s Peter Fairman told Pollstar the live events company is honoring Hynde’s animal rights lifestyle by promising not to serve any meat products at The Pretenders’ Sunday show at Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury, N.J. and Monday’s show at Central Park SummerStage in New York.
Cheesesteak sandwiches, hotdogs, buffalo wings, and crab cakes will be swapped for veggie friendly food such as veggie burgers, pasta salad and mozzarella/tomato/basil sandwiches.
“We’re just trying to create an environment where the fans are happy and the artists feel comfortable. We are willing to work with the artists in any way, shape or form that we can,” Fairman said.
Live Nation has also teamed up with radio station WRXP/101.9 FM to offer radio contest winners a promotional vegetarian barbecue prior to the Central Park SummerStage show.
Both the Central Park SummerStage Show and Stone Pony Summer Stage shows feature performances by Cat Power and Juliette Lewis.
The Pretenders have North American dates on the books through early September.
Click here for the Newsday.com article.
Click here for the Scotland On Sunday article.
Click here for a link to Hynde’s vegan restaurant, The Vegiterranean.