Lucy Dacus performed ‘Bread And Roses’ at Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral inauguration event – check it out below.
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Mamdani got to celebrate his inauguration as New York’s mayor during an event at City Hall after he was formally sworn in at midnight and Dacus was on hand for a live performance.
The song is a longstanding political anthem associated with women’s suffrage and workers’ rights, incorporating lines from James Oppenheim’s 1911 poem. Fittingly, Dacus’ supergroup Boygenius worked it into their song ‘Stay Down’. It has also been covered by the likes of Judy Collins, Phil Collins, Pete Seeger, and Utah Phillips.
Check it out below:
Lucy Dacus performing ‘Bread and Roses’ today at Zohran Mamdani’s Inauguration Ceremony today in New York City! pic.twitter.com/s2Lvm5S1DI
— boygenius source (@boygeniussource) January 1, 2026
Dacus brought out Mamdani on stage when she was performing at All Things Go Festival in September.
“This is what our city should feel like,” he told the crowd at the time. “It should be a city where trans New Yorkers are cherished, a city where our queer neighbours are celebrated, and a city where each and every New Yorker can be the fullest version of themselves. And it has to be a city that all of us can afford.”
Mamdani was elected as the 112th mayor of New York in November with a hugely successful campaign that gave him a considerable win over former governor Andrew Cuomo, an independent candidate and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
During his speech, Mamdani said a “moment like this comes rarely and rarer still is it that the people themselves whose hands are upon the levers of change”.
“The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations. Beginning today we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” he said.
Later, he remarked: “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being called radical.”
In other news, Dacus will be part of a Sudan and Palestine aid benefit show in Los Angeles next week, which was organised by Mustafa. Clairo, Geese and Pedro Pascal are among the performers, alongside Alex G, Blood Orange, Daniel Caesar, Faye Webster, Jazmine Sullivan, Noname, Noor Hindi, Omar Apollo, Raphael Saadiq, Ravyn Lenae, Rex Orange County, Safia Elhillo, Shawn Mendes, Snoh Aalegra, Tamino and 070 Shake.
