Andrew Yang Ignites Iowa With Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo For Yangapalooza Event
Andrew Yang‘s campaign hit Iowa Friday for Yangapalooza, which featured a previously announced performance by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo. Cuomo played on an outdoor stage at Des Moines’ Brenton Skating Plaza and performed a mixture of Weezer hits like “Buddy Holly,” “Island in the Sun,” and “Beverly Hills,” as well as covers of Toto’s “Africa” and A-ha’s “Take on Me,” which appear on Weezer’s The Teal Album.
Yang appeared onstage during Cuomo’s performance of “Say It Ain’t So” and ribbed at the common media sentiment that his outsider campaign only has internet support, Pitchfork reported.
“You don’t look like the f*cking internet to me!” he said before dancing and singing alongside Cuomo.
Many took to social media to comment on footage of the Yangapalooza event.
“Goddamn…I grew up on Weezer. I feel nostalgic, honored, and old,” one user wrote.
“How cool and hype America would be again if this guy became the next President,” said another.
“Dude can hold a tune,” another commented on a video of Yang singing alongside the band.
Although Cuomo reportedly donated to Yang’s campaign early in 2019, he has not explicitly endorsed the entrepreneur. Regardless, Yahoo! News reports that Yang thanked Cuomo following his donation and has expressed his liking of Weezer in the past.
“This Weezer remake of ‘Africa’ makes me think they should remake all of the best songs from the 80s. I’d buy that,” he tweeted back in 2018.
Social media footage revealed the massive crowd of supporters that attended Yangapalooza and the Truckers For Yang vehicle that made an appearance. According to a tweet from the grassroots organization’s founder, Fred Ramey, who received a shoutout from Yang during last month’s debate, there are 15 more trucks planned to promote the 44-year-old serial entrepreneur’s campaign.
Andrew Yang and his gang making a wave in Iowa tonight #YangGang pic.twitter.com/IshVqNybfU
— Zach Graumann (@Zach_Graumann) November 1, 2019
Yang’s wife, Evelyn, also made an appearance at Yangapalooza. She recently made her public debut in a television ad about special needs children and the pair’s experience raising a son with autism, per The Independent.
“If you have a child with special needs it’s expensive, and if you do not have access to good healthcare, families literally have nothing,” she said.
Yang recently received an endorsement from comedian Hannibal Buress. The Eric Andre Show co-host took to Twitter to reveal that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders followed him. He thanked the Vermont senator for the follow before revealing that he was a Yang supporter. The 36-year-old actor joked that Sanders could be Yang’s “wise advisor” and “help him out on @zoom_us meetings.”
