Radha Agrawal speaks to the Above & Beyond “Bigger Than All Of Us” tour collaboration

World-renowned electronic music trio Above & Beyond are on a mission to spark human connections across North America. The initiative is brought to life through a collaboration with Belong Center, which aims to end the loneliness epidemic and help people feel reconnected to themselves, each other, and the planet.

The tour makes a series of stops across North America, activating in five major stops: Queens, NY (Sept 5), Boston (Sept 6), Atlanta (Sept 13), Austin (Sept 19), and Denver (Sept 27). Each activation includes an immersive on-site experience, encouraging concertgoers to converse, connect, and join the Belong Center movement.

Quip would like to send one lucky fan to the September 5th show in Queens, NY. Head over to the contest post to learn more or directly to Instagram for your chance to win. 

“Above & Beyond creates spaces where people feel seen, lifted, and connected – and that’s exactly what Belong Center is here to do,” shared Belong Center founder Radha Agrawal. “We’re honoured to join forces with a band whose music already brings people together, and to invite fans into a deeper experience of community while they’re already open, dancing, and alive.”

Quip caught up with Radha Agrawal, the social entrepreneur behind the early-morning sober dance movement Daybreaker, to gain a better insight into this exciting collaboration.

Kateryna Topol: Hello Radha, can you please talk about how the partnership with Above & Beyond came together?

Radha Agrawal: Daybreaker partnered with Above & Beyond a few years ago when they were launching their Flow State album. That’s when we met Paavo Siljamäki, who I learned was deeply focused on music for mental health. We quickly became friends and started collaborating. Together, we launched a Daybreaker x Above & Beyond tour across 10 cities.

Through that experience and our growing friendship, Paavo joined the board of the Belong Center, since loneliness and belonging are so close to his heart. He’s been on our board for the last year, generously championing us inside his organisation and with his partners. Thiem, Jono, and all of Above & Beyond immediately got behind us and our mission to end loneliness and build a culture of belonging for people and the planet.

It’s incredible that they’re offering us $1 from every ticket on their tour, along with two other incredible organisations. We’re deeply grateful and so excited to continue collaborating on this tour and for years to come.

KT: Can you please speak a bit about the idea behind the Belong Bench and what the initial concept was?

RA: I’ve always dreamed of creating a circular bench where people face each other rather than sitting in a straight line with no eye contact. A yellow circular bench felt especially inviting, since yellow represents joy, warmth, and childlike wonder—it radiates sunniness.

We rendered the design and then partnered with the Bjarke Ingels Group, who generously volunteered their architectural team to support us in building the first bench. While we made some concessions to keep costs down, the essence remained: a circular bench where people sit face-to-face.

Next to the bench, we added a QR code—another dream of mine. When scanned, it gives you access to resources like “20 Questions to Become Friends,” “20 Questions to Fall in Love,” “20 Questions to Rupture & Repair,” videos on connection, curated playlists, and even a place to donate to the Belong Center. The bench is not just a piece of furniture; it’s a program of content. You can sit with someone, scan the code, and instantly have tools to spark conversation and make your community just a little more approachable.

KT: A $1-per-ticket donation is helping fight the loneliness epidemic. How exactly will this be executed?

RA: So much of the loneliness epidemic can feel pathologised, like something is “wrong” with you. At the Belong Center, our mission is to end loneliness and build a culture of belonging for people and the planet through joyful interventions.

The $1 from every ticket will go directly into our Belong Circles program. We’ve created a Belong Center Blueprint—a guide we’re about to publish—that anyone can use to start a circle in their own community. These circles can be built around any interest—knitting, music, parenting, grief support, book clubs—anything that brings people together. Along with the blueprint, we’re producing a video series so anyone can launch a circle with confidence.

We’ve learned that both macro and micro communities matter. The macro community is Daybreaker and Above & Beyond—where you meet like-minded people. From there, micro friendships and smaller circles can grow. Our mission at Belong Center is to help people move from the macro to the micro—to make the invitation, not wait for it.

Every ticket purchased is fueling these programs, helping us spread circles of belonging around the world. We’re also working on a TV show about ending loneliness in a fun and engaging way—so stay tuned!