Tom Morello hooks up with Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds for new protest track Stand Up

Tom Morello has released a new protest song titled Stand Up, which has been inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Rage Against The Machine guitarist has teamed up with Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds for the song, along with transgender rights activist Shea Diamond and Bloody Beetroots.

Morello says: “I grew up in the tiny lily white, archly conservative town of Libertyville, Illinois. When I was a kid, someone hung a noose in my family’s garage, there was occasional N-word calling, etc, etc. 

“On June 6 of this year, there was a Black Lives Matter rally and march in that same town that drew over 1000 people.

“It seems that the times, they are a’changin’. I was so inspired that night, I reached out to Dan from Imagine Dragons. The Bloody Beetroots and I had conjured a slamming track and within 24 hours Dan had sent back a completed vocal. 

“We got Shea Diamond, a Black transgender woman with a long history of activism, on the track and the coalition was complete.”

All proceeds from sales of Stand Up will go to NAACP, Know Your Rights Camp, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

Rage Against The Machine announced their reunion in November last year following the deactivation of Prophets Of Rage.

The band were due to tour this year, but called off their plans in light of the coronavirus pandemic, saying they would commence their live shows “at such a time when we are confident it will be safe for our fans.”

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.