- Music
- 24 May 24
Pillow Queens pull out of Latitude Festival due to Barclays partnership: "Saoirse don Phalaistín"
"As a band we believe that artistic spaces should be able to exist without being funded by morally corrupt investors," the Irish four-piece have remarked.
Taking to social media this morning, Pillow Queens have announced that they are pulling out of Latitude Festival, in protest against its "headline partner" Barclays' "financial ties to companies producing weapons and military technology used in Israel's attacks on Palestinians."
Latitude, which returns to Henham Park in Suffolk from July 25-28, is widely regarded as one the UK's top festivals. Its 2024 headliners include Duran Duran, Kasabian, Keane and London Grammar – with other Irish acts CMAT, Lankum, The Mary Wallopers and Joanne McNally also on the bill.
Pillow Queens' announcement follows a major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton this month due to that festival's ties to Barclays – with over a third of acts on the line-up pulling out.
The UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign have urged people to boycott Barclays, claiming it is "bankrolling Israel's genocidal assault on Palestinians through its financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel."
The Bands Boycott Barclays group – made up of musicians and music industry professionals – was launched at the end of April, in an effort to "stand in solidarity with Palestine by boycotting all music festivals partnered with Barclays." As reported by The Guardian this week, Bands Boycott Barclays' next targets are Latitude and the Isle of Wight Festival.
Read Pillow Queens' full statement below:
Last week it came to our attention that Latitude – a festival we were booked to play in the UK in July – lists its headline partner as Barclays. A May 2024 report by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) details Barclays financial ties to companies producing weapons and military technology used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians. It reveals that Barclays has increased its financial ties with companies arming Israel. PSC urges people to boycott all Barclays services until the bank ends its complicity in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.
As a band we believe that artistic spaces should be able to exist without being funded by morally corrupt investors.
It is for that reason that we have pulled out of Latitude Festival.
Saoirse don Phalaistín.
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Pillow Queens released their latest album, Name Your Sorrow, last month. The band are currently gearing up for a busy string of summer dates – including a headline show at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin on July 13.
