As the Texan dusk approaches, the pro-Palestine rally disperses. Austin’s local bird, the grackle, chirps out its distinctive evening call. Underneath an expansive city tree, the five members of Gurriers stand solemn.

“We’ve made big sacrifices this week, tough decisions, it’s cutting, but Jesus, it’s really and truly nothing compared to what people are going through over there in Palestine,” Pierce says staunchly.

“We made that decision Sunday night that we weren’t going to play,” he clarifies. “We talked about it again before we got on the plane on Monday morning, and throughout the course of the day. We’re travelling, long flights, and by the time we’ve landed, the situation was a lot different, a lot more bands have pulled out.”

“We had a meeting on Tuesday morning with all the rest of the Irish bands that travelled, and decided we were going to release a joint statement and show a united front on the whole thing,” Pierce continues. “Ever since then it’s been really empowering to see the unity and the numbers. I think 10% of the bands have pulled out. I’m very proud, from an Irish point of view that, it’s all of the ‘Music From Ireland’ showcase bands have pulled out and the vast majority of Irish bands decided to pull out. I think it speaks volumes about the kind of solidarity Irish people have with the people of Palestine and the horrors they’ve been subjected to over the past number of decades.”

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy.

Frontperson Dan explains how he felt attending the Palestine rally and at being in the United States. “It’s very empowering and emotional to hear everyone speaking and have their say outside of the military stage,” he says earnestly.

“It’s a jarring feeling being in America protesting against the war machine. I’m very proud of being Irish and being in the Irish music scene. It’s testament to all of them [Irish musicians]. We’ve been hanging out with them all week. We’re connected in a way that we wouldn’t have been before.”

Gurriers plush Airbnb, on the East side of the city, became the chosen hangout spot for the all the Irish acts. In part, due to their place boasting a sizeable swimming pool. “We’ve had every music band from Ireland over to our house, chilling, having a few beers, looking after each other. It’s been nice, in a weird, roundabout way. That’s definitely something I’ll take away from this as a positive,” Pierce says with a grin.

He continues. “We’ve all leaned on each other. We’ve all hung out. The thing with a lot of bands is you meet them at a gig and you might have the craic for ten minutes, then you don’t see them again. It’s friendly, but, you might not have a lot of deep connections with people, it’s all very passive. So to get to really hang out and spend time with other bands that are in the same boat as us, the same place as us, over the last couple of days is been possibly a silver-lining on the whole experience. We’re able to decompress after what was a stressful beginning of the week when things were up in the air and people are feeling the pressures of expectancy and weighing up lost opportunities by not participating but, it’s very tough to deal with that, so to be able to have a support network there and for those of us who have decided to travel and be here we’ve all been very good to each other,” he admits.

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy

On the subject of artists who played official shows such as, Nabihah Iqbal, who wore a ‘Free Palestine’ shirt on stage at the opening night - and who subsequently dropped her remaining SXSW shows - Gurriers encourages all forms of protest. “Boycotting is just one form of protest, Dan explains. “If you feel that you want to get on stage and talk about it, and use your voice, or the power you have as a musician to speak, go ahead and do it. Boycott is one form of protest. Actively protesting by being there in the moment, in the place where it is happening, where the problem is, do it, fair play to you. That’s how I feel about artists who feel that way. A lot have pulled out of official shows but are still playing unofficial shows or are playing pro-Palestine funded events. That’s what you do, you do that too. You have to pick your battles.”

“There’s no right or wrong way to protest, as long as you’re speaking out against it,” Ben states succinctly. “That’s all you can really do in these situations.”

“There’s a million reasons to have played and to have used it a a vehicle to protest,” Mark adds. And, vice versa, there’s a million reasons why not to play. We just found this is the best thing we could have done. Especially, all the Irish acts pulling out sends a much harder statement.”

“It says a lot that an entire country’s worth of bands who are currently representing and over here to partake the festival are all unified in saying: ‘we are dropping out of this and we cannot condone this,” Charlie says with conviction. “I think it sends a wider message as well, and I do think protest at the gigs, as Dan was saying, that’s one form of protest and that’s equally as valid. It’s just that this is how Ireland as a country has decided to protest.”

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy

Pierce delves deeper into the larger impact of the boycott. “The unity aspect of it is fucking incredible. When you look at the sheer number of people who have pulled out and the fact that the story now at home is, ‘all Irish acts have pulled out’, that’s a huge statement. I’m sure loads of people have sat up this week and looked at it been like Jesus. That’s ultimately what it’s been about, getting people to consider these things and to think about in a larger context who they associate with and where their principles are and where they draw the line in their own lives. At the end of the day, if you don’t challenge things and make your own changes to push back against the kind of atrocities that are happening in Palestine, you’re kind of complicit in the whole thing.”

As to the group’s thoughts on South By Southwest and their relationship with the US Army sponsorship. “It’s very disappointing to have been put in the position to make that decision, “ Pierce says earnestly. “Obviously, our artistic integrity and our values were not considered by a festival that decided to invite us over here.”

“I think to share a bill with a weapons manufacturer kind of normalise that [war] and that shouldn’t be normalised at all,” Mark says assertively. “Especially, one of the lads from Raytheon at a share holders meeting said - referring to the genocide in Gaza - that profits were going to go up because of it. Which is just a disgusting thing to be in the table as a conversational topic. ‘Oh we are going to make more money, we are making more profit cause people are being killed’. And they’re on a bill with us, and amongst the other bands as well.”

“At the end of the day, it’s sad that it has to come down to us to speak out against this when the fucking politicians, the leaders, they should be the ones speaking out about this,” Ben says vexed. “We don’t really have any power to make movements in legislation, they are the ones that are in control of this shit and it’s come down to us to speak against this bullshit that is going on.”

Charlie expands on the topic of politicians. “I’m especially disgusted by Varadkar making a statement that Joe Biden’s heart is in the right place in this situation, it just isn’t. It’s disgusting he would say that, and, as Ben was saying, it comes down to us to take the hard line on it for some reason. We are artists, we are playing music, and he’s a politician, yet, he’s not speaking out against it. It’s incredibly disappointing to have our leader representing us that way when almost everyone in the country feels the same way about it. The government shouldn’t be over visiting for St Patrick’s Day.”

It cannot be overstated how much Irish bands sacrificed last week in Texas. Emotionally, financially, and opportunistically. South By Southwest can transform an emerging musician’s career. Look up who’s played there. More than likely, your favourite artist had an 80% chance of having played the festival. This is where American, and the planet’s, most influential distributors, brands and booking agents go to experience if a band can cut it live. If they can engage a crowd of strangers, who’ve never even heard of the artist they’re watching, and impress them. The States is where the money is made. That’s what makes SXSW crucial for up and coming acts.

In the end, Pierce’s final remarks on the saga are indisputable. “Feels that this week, the artists are the only people who have put their money where their mouth is,” he concludes defiantly.

SXSW Palestine protest outside US Department of Defence. Copyright Ed Murphy