Indie Rock Band Speedy Ortiz Embarks on Vegan Tour of US

Indie rock band Speedy Ortiz recently embarked on a United States tour—with a vegan twist. The band partnered with 11 local businesses along the route of their “You Ate Your Title” tour to create limited-edition vegan dishes. Speedy Ortiz’ frontwoman Dupuis has been vegan for more than 13 years. She first stopped eating meat when she was 10 years old after her family moved near a dairy farm. “I couldn’t reconcile the treatment of baby calves crammed in pens to be raised for veal, with the indulgent way we treated our family dog,” Dupuis told VegNews. The band kicked off its US tour last week at Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Philadelphia with an ice cream party where they scooped the shop’s specially created “Twerp Verse Dessert Burst Sundae” which featured lime and toasted coconut vegan ice cream topped with blueberries, strawberries, and dried goji berries. “As a band, we wanted to highlight some of the great restaurants that make it so easy to eat ethically and deliciously—and also have an excuse to visit those restaurants on tour,” Dupuis told VegNews. “Some of these places are even donating a portion of their proceeds to local charities we chose together, involving causes that matter to us—education, prison reform, and, of course, food justice.” Participating businesses include eatery Claire’s Corner Copia in New Haven, CT which will serve Sadie’s Vegan Rancheros Bowl; ice cream shop FoMu in Allston, MA which created a rainbow-sprinkle cookie; and doughnut shop Donut Friend in Los Angeles which will offer the Seedy Ortiz doughnut topped with Kite Hill vegan cream cheese, raspberry habanero jam, cayenne-spiked maple glaze, and pumpkin seeds. “I get asked in interviews all the time whether it’s ‘hard to be vegan on the road,’” Dupuis said. “They seem surprised when I say it’s really not hard at all, especially in 2018.” Speedy Ortiz will complete its vegan tour on June 12 in Portland, OR at vegan barbecue restaurant Homegrown Smoker.