SXSW Festival 2024: Why Are Bands Pulling out on Performances?

Bands and performers are making a significant move in pulling out of the SXSW Festival 2024 in Austin, Texas, earlier this week.

The move came after the bands learned about the festival's major sponsor, the United States Army.

Why Are Performers Pulling Out of SXSW?

Apparently, the United States Army's "super sponsorship" of the festival caused these bands to pull the plug on their relationship. These bands and performers are taking a stand against the United States Army and the United States Government altogether because of their continuous support of Israel on the ongoing Palestinian genocide in the Gaza Strip. (via The Hill)

"We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has the U.S. Army as a 'super sponsor' and is platforming RTX (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems, the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children," the Ireland-based rap trio Kneecap said in a statement, announcing their departure from the said lineup. "But it isn't an iota of hardship when compared to the unimaginable suffering being inflicted every minute, every day on the people of Gaza."

Kneecap was among the few other performers and bands to stand in protest against the SXSW Festival. Other bands included Scowl, Gel, Squirrel Flower, Sprints, Okay Shalom, and Lambrini Girls.

The artists are slated to perform in Austin, Texas, from Mar. 11, 2024, to Mar. 16, 2024. The festival usually attracts more than 300,000 people per year, and despite the "significant financial impact" the departure would mean for Kneecap, they remained firm in their principles.

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More Bands, Performers Pull Out of SXSW

Meanwhile, the Lambrini Girls initially mulled over the opportunity to perform to reach more audiences with their protest.

"We were considering going to the festival and protesting on stage, but there isn't a way to do that doesn't feel performative or inherently exploitative," they tweeted on Twitter/X, calling the boycott of SXSW necessary.

Okay Shalom also expressed their protest in a social media statement, announcing their boycot of the SXSW Festival.

"There's always a right thing to do and it's almost never as complicated as the establishment wants you to believe. And sometimes it costs you a dream, but a dream is a dream and not a life," they wrote in a statement.

Lastly, Squirrel Flower pointed out that a music festival like SXSW "should not include war profiteers," such as the United States Army, adding, "I refuse to be complicit in this and withdraw my art and labor in protest."

"A music festival should not include war profiteers. Ella Williams, also known as Squirrel Flower, said in her social media statement.

The Hill reported that the United States has been a supplier of weapons to Israel, many of which are being used in the conflict between the war-torn Gaza Strip, which has impacted about 5% of Gaza's 2.3 million population.

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Tags

SXSW, Israel