Austin, TX – Over 3000 people gathered Sunday, May 19, outside of the Texas Capitol building for a statewide pro-Palestine march for Nakba Day.

The city ordered state troopers to shut down the Capitol grounds and tried to demand $50,000 to let people protest there, but the Austin community still came out in droves to show their support for Palestine and condemn U.S. aid to Israel.

People filled the streets, chanting, “Free Palestine!” and “Occupation no more!”

Nura Abdelwahed, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said, “Our people have exposed that the so-called military stronghold in the Middle East, is nothing but a paper tiger!” She continued, “We will not let fascists like Greg Abbott beat our movement into submission!”

After the speeches, the crowd started marching. After a few blocks an organizer was arrested, prompting the crowd to start chanting, “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be!” and “APD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same!”

Despite the police repression, the march continued with no more arrests made until the crowd reached the Capitol building where at least one other person was arrested. Back at the Capitol, organizers led the crowd in one more round of the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

#Austin, TX #PYM #Palestine #Nakba

Virgin Radio

21 May 2024, 14:19

Chances are if you’ve been scrolling through social media, you’ll have heard the country pop earworm Austin, by Dasha. 

The American pop star has suddenly burst onto the scene with her epic break-up tune, which peaked in the UK charts at number seven. 

But who is Dasha? Where is she from, and is that her real name? We’ve got all the answers for you!

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Born in 2000, Dasha is a singer-songwriter who has been penning records for a good few years. 

After leaving Belmont University in Nashville at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dasha turned to making music, first releasing Don’t Mean a Thing back in April 2020 and was later signed to record label, Quadio Records. 

Shortly after, she released None of My Business, $hiny Things, and 21st Birthday, before bringing out her debut album, Dirty Blonde, in 2023. 

Despite her brilliant country twang, Dasha was actually born in San Luis Obispo, California.

During an interview with Music OT Future, Dasha explained that she had moved to Nashville but returned to the West Coast to continue singing, acting and dancing. 

While releasing singles for a few years, it wasn’t until Austin that Dasha really made her mark. 

Austin was released in November 2023 and kicked off her foray into country music, peaking at number 28 in the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It gained a massive following online after being used on TikTok for a viral dance routine. 

Discussing the themes of heartbreak tune Austin, Dasha told CountrySwag.com: “Austin is one of my favourite songs that I’ve ever written. The story behind writing the song is really cool.”

Co-written by Dasha, Adam Wendler, Cheyenne Rose Arnspiger and Kenneth Travis Heidelman, the pop singer added: “We were all writing this song called Play Dumb. It was like this cheating song about knowing someone’s cheating on you, but playing dumb, so you can hold on a little bit longer, and I didn’t relate to the song, so I was having trouble writing it.

“I started freestyling over it, and I started the chorus for Austin, exactly how you hear it.”

As with plenty of other major musical names, Dasha is a professional stage name. 

Her full name is Anna Dasha Novotny, but so she didn’t have to look too hard for a moniker that was perfect for the charts. 

Given all her recent success, we’re eagerly waiting to see if Dasha will make her UK touring debut, but according to her website, gigs and tours are yet to be announced. Watch this space!