The “No Kings” nationwide protest is back.
The first event, held on President Donald J. Trump’s birthday on June 14, 2025, drew an estimated 5 million people nationwide. In subsequent gatherings — October 2025 and March 2026 — 7 million and 8 million people across the country, respectively.
This fourth event is also scheduled for Trump’s birthday this year, his 80th, which will reportedly be accompanied by lavish plans, ahead of the country’s 250th birthday celebration.
But No Kings organizers are taking a new approach this year.
“On June 14, we rise up, we sing out, and we keep organizing,” a webpage for the upcoming event states.
Instead of explicitly planning protest marches across the country, No Kings is hosting a 90-minute concert in New York City, with watch parties scattered throughout the country.
The concert, called “Rise Up, Sing Out,” will take place at The Town Hall in midtown Manhattan, featuring performances from Bette Midler, Rufus Wainwright, Patti Smith, Sasha Allen, and commentary by Joy Reid and Jane Fonda.
Organizers call the event “an uplifting evening of song, solidarity, and action.”
Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment will be sponsoring the concert. The organization will also benefit from ticket purchases for the in-person concert.
“Featuring an all-star line-up of performers, this 90-minute concert event will celebrate the freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment — of speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest — and the people power that both fuels these rights and is essential to guarantee them,” organizers share.
So far, No Kings organizers have announced 18 watch parties in 11 different states, though anyone interested in hosting another party of their own can fill out a form to be formally registered with the nationwide event.
“Parties can be hosted by individuals or organizations, they can be private or public; all you need is a place where you can stream the show, have good audio, and make guests feel welcome,” the form states.
While it’s unclear if those watch parties may lead to further picketing or the funny protest signs activists have come to love, one thing is clear from organizers: This is a non-violent event designed to build community.
The decentralized approach, gathering people across the country to watch a broadcast and participate in tailored civic engagement activities, is intended to make participation more accessible, “while emphasizing community-building over spectacle,” Newsweek reports.
“Even as authoritarians increase their attacks on our freedoms and communities, we see examples across the country of people rising up together, taking action, and turning back those forces,” a web page for the concert reads.
“The event will be streamed with watch parties all across the country — so wherever you are, you can sing along, find inspiration in the performances, build community, and take meaningful action together.”
Those interested in buying tickets to the concert, finding or hosting a watch party, or just streaming the concert on their own can do so online.
“Each time we show up, we disrupt President Trump’s attempts to rule through repression and remind the country, and the world, that people power is our path to a truly free America. Authoritarians want fear, silence, and isolation. We choose joy. We choose community. We choose people power,” organizers share on the No Kings website.
“Rise Up, Sing Out is about reclaiming patriotism as something inclusive, participatory, and rooted in care for one another — not power, pageantry, or one person’s spotlight.”
You may also like: Here are 50+ of the best No Kings protest sign ideas
Header image by Santuit Studio (Public Domain)
