Muse crowdsourcing setlist for charity show

Muse have announced a one-off show in London in aid of homeless charity The Passage in which ticketholders will choose the setlist.

Billed as a ‘by request’ show, the concert – at AMG’s 2,000-cap. Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 19 August – will give all those who buy tickets the opportunity to choose their ten favourite Muse songs, with the tallied-up votes used to curate the band’s set on the night.

Tickets for the show go on sale at 9am on Friday (6 July) via Ticketmaster, with all profits going to The Passage. Muse fanclub members and ticketholders for Reading and Leeds Festivals – which Muse (pictured) headline the following weekend – will have access to a 48-hour presale.

“The Passage is really grateful that Muse are doing a doing a concert to raise money for, and awareness of, the vital work we do to end homelessness”

Mick Clarke, CEO of The Passage, comments: “The Passage is really grateful that Muse are doing a doing a concert to raise money for, and awareness of, the vital work we do to end homelessness for those who come to our doors. It is frighteningly easy to end up on the street, and this concert helps ensure that The Passage will be there for those who have nowhere else to turn to.”

“We have admired The Passage’s work for a while now,” adds Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. “Their work is vital to the community in London. We are looking forward to doing our bit to help the amazing staff and volunteers and the homeless people who benefit from their tireless hard work.”

Other bands who have experimented with allowing fans to choose setlists include Coldplay, who have taken song requests via their website for the ongoing A Head Full of Dreams tour, Metallica, Maxïmo Park and Franz Ferdinand. (Muse themselves did something similar at the late Oxegen festival in 2010.)

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.