It’s nice to read several of those musician’s quotes clearly inspired by Bushnell’s self-immolation statement.

I think I’ll be skipping sxsw this year. I mean, I skip it every year, but this year I’m doing it in protest.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Multiple bands and musicians scheduled to perform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival are pulling out because of the U.S. Army’s “super sponsorship” of the event, and America’s ongoing support of Israel’s war on Hamas.

“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 group said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kneecap joins other slated SXSW performers like Lambrini Girls, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom, Squirrel Flower and Sprints in pulling out of the event to protest.

Lily Macieira and Phoebe Lunny of Lambrini Girls, a Brighton-based band, said on social media that their boycott of SXSW was necessary to avoid “becoming totally inauthentic” in their claims of solidarity with Palestine.

President Biden has become increasingly critical of the civilian toll of the war, and said last week he expects a “Come-to-Jesus meeting” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement to BBC, the US Army said 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.”

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