The University of Wisconsin-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, with help from the Madison Anarchist League chapter and several local bands, organized a fundraiser for Sudan at the Mousetrap on Feb. 28.
The Sudanese Civil War, an ongoing conflict since 2023, has been deemed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by the United Nations, with nearly 30 million people facing extreme hunger and famine, and an additional 13 million displaced.
“Local musicians have a fiduciary responsibility to be activists for things that are important going on in the national scope and the international scope of things,” Ari Parmet, vocalist and guitarist of Madison band Yolk, told The Daily Cardinal.
Despite the wide-reaching repercussions of the war, media coverage of Sudan in the U.S. has been largely limited in comparison to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
“We wanted to find a way to raise awareness while also trying to do something substantial.” Ash Thiele, a YDSA member, told The Daily Cardinal.
The civil war escalated to new heights in late October 2025 when the Rapid Security Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force warring with the Sudanese government, captured the city of El Fashir and initiated a massacre where 6,000 Fur, Zaghawa and other non-Arab residents of the city were killed over a 72-hour period.
“We were trying to find action related to the genocide of El Fashir,” Thiele said. “We were trying to find the best way to show solidarity, because we, as people here in America, would like to not be involved in horrific genocides around the world.”
“We kind of have the ability to get a group of people, get a crowd out, and support a cause. So why not use that?” Yolk’s lead guitarist Jack Jameson added.
The United Nations and U.S intelligence assessments allege the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, arms the RSF. The UAE has denied this claim, but has faced backlash from Sudan at the International Court of Justice and from the U.N.
The UAE receives substantial arms sales from the United States, including a $1.4 billion package from President Donald Trump’s administration last year comprising F-16 parts.
The joint US-Israeli military operations in Iran, which began in the early morning hours the same day, heightened the feelings of solidarity with other humanitarian causes at the venue.
“The people of Gaza, the people of Sudan and Congo and now the killings by the United States and Israel in Iran for an unjustified war, are all connected with [the American people’s] support,” Thiele said in a speech addressing the audience at the start of the show.
Through connections that YDSA and the Anarchist League made with the Anarchist Group of Sudan, all proceeds were sent to Sudan.
As attendees filled the Mousetrap’s cavernous space Saturday night, the Madison house show scene’s strong ties to social causes were exemplified by band members’ commitments to the cause.
“I think with everything going on right now and what we all feel in this community, and how members of our community are being treated, it's really important to [make demands] together and do something for a good cause,” New Wrongs guitarist Joe Frankowski said.
Show-goers echoed the same sentiment, saying grassroots music and activism blend naturally.
“The house show scenes have pretty much always been embedded with punk music, and there's nothing more punk than activism,” Jacob, a 20-year old attendee, said.
The Mousetrap hosted shows in support of Palestine last fall and an anti-ICE show on Feb. 13.
Amid a youth ‘loneliness epidemic’, attendees said house shows provide a unique and valuable space for community-building, activism and grassroots music.
“I think people are sometimes at a loss for how to contribute to things. And it's hard. Society makes it hard to feel connected with, and to be able to engage in politics in a way that feels tangible,” Henry Colluci, a member of the Madison Anarchist League, said. “But going to a physical event where you can see your money being put towards something is a way for people to engage in a way that they like, or, can feel and see.”
