Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

Reverend Billy performing in support of the movement at Occupy Wall Street.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping is a radical performance community based in New York City. The Stop Shopping Choir is accompanied by a comic preacher, Reverend Billy, portrayed by performer William (Billy) Talen. The philosophy of the Church of Stop Shopping surrounds the imminent "Shopocalypse", which assumes the end of humanity will come about through manic consumerism.[1]

The Stop Shopping Choir accompanies Reverend Billy and stages guerrilla theater style actions, singing on the property of the Disney stores,[2] Monsanto facilities,[2] and Trump Tower,[3] among others. In 2007 they were featured in What Would Jesus Buy? a film produced by Morgan Spurlock. They are often considered part of the Culture jamming movement.[4]

The group uses the content from their direct actions to create songs that are performed on concert stages and in cabarets. The director of these shows is church co-founder Savitri D.

Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir routinely perform at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater in New York City.[5] In 2024 they joined Neil Young and Crazy Horse on their Love Earth tour across the country.[6]

  1. ^ McClish, Carmen L. "Activism based in embarrassment: The anti-consumption spirituality of the Reverend Billy". Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies. 5.2 (2009): 1–20.
  2. ^ a b Burke, Monte (April 21, 2011). "Reverend Billy and His Crusade Against Consumerism". Forbes. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Moynihan, Colin (June 14, 2017). "The Activists Who Are Staging Protest in Trump Tower". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Wettergren, Åsa (2003). Opel, Andrew; Pompper, Donnalyn (eds.). Like moths to a flame: culture jamming and the global spectacle. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. pp. 27–43. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Viagas, Robert (October 5, 2017). "John Epperson, Reverend Billy, and Tori Scott Coming to Joe's Pub May 11–18".
  6. ^ Greene, Andy (April 25, 2024). "Neil Young Stuns at 2024 Tour Launch, Unveils Lost 'Cortez the Killer' Verse". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 9, 2024.