Amid the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, Texas Governor Greg Abbott advised musicians who are withdrawing from the event due to the US Army’s sponsorship, “Don’t come back” to the state.
SXSW, a globally famous music, film, and interactive media festival, attracts thousands of visitors to Austin each March. The 2024 SXSW festival began on March 8 and is slated to run through March 16, with live panels and special activities.
Despite the COVID-19 epidemic’s two-year hiatus, SXSW predicts that the festival will still have a $280.7 million economic impact on Austin in 2022 because it consistently draws over 300,000 visitors.
However, the festival comes amid rising tensions in the United States and around the world as a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which began on October 7, when Hamas launched the worst Palestinian attack on Israel in history, killing 1,200 people.
Israel then started its most intense bombing of the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, almost 30,800 Palestinians have been murdered in the enclave, the Associated Press reported. The mounting death toll has prompted worldwide calls for a ceasefire in the fighting to let humanitarian aid into the Strip.
On Sunday, celebrities at the 2024 Academy Awards wore pins in support of a cease-fire in Gaza.
On Tuesday, musicians including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom, Squirrel Flower, and Sprints began withdrawing from the event in protest of the event’s sponsor, the US Army. The performers were scheduled to perform at the festival from March 11 to 16.
Kneecap stated in a statement on X that they had decided to withdraw from the festival due to the sponsorship, saying, “We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has the U.S. Army as a’super sponsor,'” and citing the US supply of armaments to Israel.
The group also stated that withdrawing would have “a significant financial impact” on the group. “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.”
In reaction, Abbott resorted to X, formerly Twitter, to denounce the artists’ decision, saying, “Don’t come back,” and adding that Texas is proud of the United States military.
“Bands withdraw from SXSW due to US Army funding. Bye. Do not come back. The Army Futures Command continues to have its headquarters in Austin. San Antonio is known as Military City, USA. We are proud of the United States military in Texas. “If you don’t like it, don’t come here,” Abbott stated on X.
“SXSW disagrees with Governor Abbott. We are an organization that values varied perspectives. Music is the heart of SXSW and has long been our history. We completely accept the artists’ decision to express their right to free speech. Throughout the world, we are witnessing horrible catastrophes, the development of authoritarian governments, and the spread of violent war.” It’s more important than ever that we work together to address these larger humanitarian issues,” SXSW stated.
“The Army’s sponsorship is part of our commitment to advancing ideas that will shape the world.” We have and will continue to support universal human rights. The situation in the Middle East is unfortunate, and it highlights the critical significance of working together to combat injustice,” SXSW continued.
Following the October 7 strike, President Joe Biden, who later emphasized the importance of humanitarian relief to Gaza, said that the United States will support Israel throughout the battle and promised to deliver the country a wealth of military equipment and weapons. The United States is currently Israel’s largest supplier of weapons, and some of those systems are being used in the fight.
The United States Army is also in charge of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and will build a seaport on the territory’s Mediterranean coastline, as Biden said in his State of the Union address last week.
“This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined,” Biden stated during his speech. The president urged Israel to “do its part” to facilitate help in the region.
Meanwhile, in a statement to the BBC, the US Army stated that it was “proud to be a sponsor of SXSW and to have the opportunity to showcase America’s Army, explore new ideas and insights, and create dynamic industry partnerships.”
