More Irish acts pull out of SXSW including Mick Flannery, Chalk and Enola Gay

A further four Irish acts have pulled out of this year's South by Southwest festival (SXSW) in Texas over the arts festival's sponsorship with the US Army.

The boycott, joined today by Mick Flannery, Chalk, Enola Gay and Robert Grace is to protest the U.S. Army's sponsorship of SXSW as well as the involvement of RTX (formerly Raytheon) Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems, companies who are involved in the manufacturing and supplying of weapons to Israel.

Today's announcement sees the artist joining the ranks of Kneecap, Sprints, Soda Blonde and Gavin James who have pulled out of SXSW in solidarity with Palestine.

In a terse statement today, Mick Flannery said: "I will not be playing the previously advertised official showcase at the SXSW festival. I do not wish to be associated with weapons manufacturers".

Kilkenny singer songwriter Robert Grace also joined the boycott today saying: "This is a significant loss to me financially but as other performers have stated before me, this is nothing in comparison to the loss being experienced by those in Palestine".

The musician went on to quote fellow SXSW boycotter Gavin James saying 'Music and art should always stand on the side of peace and humanity".

Antrim trio Chalk also joined the ranks protesting the US army's sponsorship of the arts festival, sharing their thoughts on Instagram saying: "SXSW decision to align themselves with weapon manufacturers to facilitate the brutal killings of innocent civilians in Palestinian is not something that we as a band, and as a people, can accept".

Belfast punk group Enola Gay also issued strong words on Instagram today saying: "It is impossible for us to perform at a festival where the Us Army are a 'super sponsor'".

The band continued saying: "We refuse to partake in SX while they run military events displaying their new technology such as AI and drones. With Raytheon boasting about their increased sales since October the 7th and their predicted figures for the year, next to the 31,000 Palestinians that have been murdered. This cannot be normalised."

 

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The group also commented on the post refusing donations from fans who wished to help the band cover the cost of pulling out of the show saying: "While we appreciate the offers, please do not be sending us money. We will deal with this ourselves, let’s keep the conversation about Palestine."

Enola Gay urged fans who wished to donate to the group to instead donate to charities directly helping those in Palestine.

The Irish artists boycotting this year's SXSW join the ever growing list of musicians including Scowl, Squirrel Flower, Shalom, Eliza McLamb and Mamalarky

Since October 7th over 31,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed while a further 72,000 have been injured. Yesterday, President Michael D. Higgins issued an urgent statement saying "It is time for the world to put an end to this loss of life".