Acclaimed Irish artists Rachael Lavelle, Anna Mieke and Annika Kilkenny have become the latest acts to pull out of The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, in protest against its partnership with Barclays.

The UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign have urged people to boycott the bank, claiming it is "bankrolling Israel's genocidal assault on Palestinians through its financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel."

Over 120 acts, including Derry band CHERYM and Dublin singer-songwriter Sarah Crean, have already pulled out of The Great Escape, which is taking place this week.

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."

Taking to social media today, Anna Mieke announced that she wouldn't be playing her scheduled shows at the festival.

"It doesn't sit right with me to perform at an event that is actively being boycotted for reasons I believe in," she wrote. "I respect the power of boycotts and want to contribute in any way I can to create noise and highlight the companies that are quite literally financing the genocide of Palestinians. I'm in the fortunate position to be able to choose to boycott this particular event this time but I know for many other artists this just isn't possible.

"We do what we can, if we can, when the opportunity is there," she added.

 

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Rachael Lavelle also shared a statement online.

"I have decided to pull out of The Great Escape," her post reads. "I don't feel comfortable performing at an event that is actively being boycotted for a cause I support. It's been a difficult decision to make but most importantly I want to show my support. Solidarity to all the other artists who pulled out but I also know not everyone is in a position to make this decision."

 

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