Texas Governor Greg Abbott told dozens of musicians to "stay out" of Texas after artists began dropping out of the SXSW festival, due to its connections to the United States Army.
"Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship. Bye. Don't come back. Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command," Abbott tweeted accompanied by an article about the boycott. "San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don't like it, don't come here."
More than eighty artists have chosen to pull out of the festival, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, including every band selected to represent the Republic of Ireland in a government-funded showcase. The festival, which runs from March 8 to March 16, coincides with the beginning of Ramadan - one of the most sacred months of the year for Muslims. For ceasefire advocates, the holiday has taken on special poignancy, as more than 30,000 Gazans have been killed during continuing Israeli bombardment.
The Army is one of SXSW's six "super sponsors," while multiple events at the Austin-based festival are sponsored by companies connected to the defense industry. The local activist coalition 'Austin for Palestine' called for a boycott and scheduled a counter-event called anti-SXSW fest, featuring several artists originally scheduled to perform at SXSW.
Singer-songwriter Ella Williams, better known by her stage name, Squirrel Flower, is one of the artists now involved in the Austin for Palestine event. She announced her boycott of the festival with an Instagram post explaining that she made the decision because of the festival's connections to both the US Army and the defense contractor Raytheon.
"I have decided to pull out of my official SXSW showcases in protest of SXSW's ties to the defense industry and in support of the Palestinian people," Williams wrote. "Genocide profiteers like Raytheon supply weapons to the IDF, paid for by our taxes. A music festival should not include war profiteers. I refuse to be complicit in this and withdraw my art and labor in protest."
The organizers of SXSW condemned Abbott's statements criticizing the musicians but also defended their decision to work with the Army in a series of posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"We are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech," the thread reads.
"The Army's sponsorship is part of our commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world. Regarding Collins Aerospace, they participated this year as a sponsor of two SXSW Pitch categories, giving entrepreneurs visibility and funding for potentially game-changing work."
