SXSW Boycott - Which Artists Have Dropped Out and Why?
Lovers of film, music, education, and all forms of interactive media come together every year to attend or take part in the SXSW, South by Southwest. The Austin, Texas-based festival and conference started in 1987. In a 2015 article for Tech Times written by Heba Hasan, the festival was reported as “the highest revenue-producing event for the Austin economy.”1 Many are familiar with the festival because of its popularity within the film community/industry. Hasan writes in his article that SXSW embodies, ‘…hipsters, tech-nerds and ‘though’leaders’ [coming] together to celebrate creativity and capitalism.” And what better way to celebrate capitalism than by having the US army as a super sponsor? The festival, which began March 8th and extends to the 16th, is receiving backlash and has lost many performing acts due to this “super sponsor.”
A Brief Look at US Army Funding
The United States Army has been and will always be a controversial topic within our country. In 2024, the US Army requested a budget of $185.5 billion, which is about $8 billion more than their 2023 budget.2 These are numbers many of us can not comprehend, especially when issues like homelessness, the housing crisis, food insecurity, and budget cuts within the education system are plaguing our country. The list goes on and on and on. That, however, is another topic for another time. Most recently, the US army and government as a whole are facing scrutiny for their ongoing support and aid to Israel. Essentially, US citizens are funding the continuing genocide in Palestine whether we like it or not. The US army sends the most in defense aid and weaponry to Israel. This extends far beyond October 7th, 2023, as Israel has been wrongfully occupying Palestine since 1948. In those 75 years, the US has given around $130 billion total in military aid. Israel currently receives $3.8 billion yearly in aid, and President Biden has requested an additional $14.3 billion for assistance - weaponry, air and missile defense systems, etc.3 Many people have resorted to boycotting companies who are sending aid to support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as a means of resistance. Most recently, this is displayed in the large number of musical acts dropping out of SXSW for its sponsorship with the US Army.
Music Acts Who’ve Spoken Out and Dropped out of SXSW
In support of Palestine, the Austin for Palestine Coalition called out SXSW for their invitation of Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems and asked for the festival to cut its ties with the Department of Defense.4 The coalition also strongly advocates for musicians in Gaza and for all musicians to take a stand against Israel. As a result, over 70 artists/bands have officially dropped out of SXSW to join in speaking out against the genocide. Musicians from all over the world are continually speaking out and putting pressure on the US government and the UN to take a stand AGAINST Israel and call for an official ceasefire. Many artists put out statements to express their frustrations with SXSW, pointing out that no pay loss could amount to the horrors faced by the Palestinian people.
Rachel Chinouriri
The English singer-songwriter put out a statement today, March 12th, explaining her exit from the festival. Chinouriri wrote in an Instagram post that as the child of Zimbabwean immigrants who were child soldiers, she is “100% anti-war.” Seeing the effects war had on her own family, she could not play a festival supporting an ongoing war and genocide.
NewDad, Cardinals, Enola Gay, Gurriers, Sprints
These 4 Irish Bands put a joint statement out today, March 12, as well. In the post, they explain that as musical groups represented by the music export office, Music From Ireland, they could not perform for SXSW. They explain that it is immoral to “taint the celebration of art” with any support for genocide.
Mamalarky
The American indie-rock band released their statement a week ago, on the 5th of March, explaining their reasoning for canceling both scheduled SXSW shows. In an Instagram post, lead singer Livvy Bennett wrote, “As you might’ve heard, SXSW is sponsored by the US army and Raytheon, direct supporters of the genocide of the Palestinian people…In remembering the 30,000+ Palestinians, many of whom having lost their lives to American weapons, in remembering active military member Aaron Bushnell who was moved to self immolate in protest of this ongoing genocide-this is a very easy decision to make.” They also publicly stated artists Squirrel Flower and Shalom moved them to make this decision.
Squirrel Flower and Shalom
Both solo artists released statements on or around March 4th announcing their official exit from the SXSW festival. Shalom explained that even though playing this festival was a dream come true, “…a dream is a dream and not a life. palestinians deserve to dream. they deserve to live.” Ella O’Connor Williams (Squirrel Flower) expressed a similar sentiment as to why she was pulling from the festival, as seen below.
Many more have dropped out in addition to the artists listed above. Glare, TC Superstar, Subsonic Eye, Bloomsday, just to name a few. Outside of SXSW, many other artists and bands have been vocal about boycotting and calling for a permanent ceasefire. For more on the boycott of SXSW and general information/resources for Palestine, check out the links below.
(above 3 links from SJP Temple linktree)