Caithness band Neon Waltz pulls out of major US festival to 'support the Palestinian cause'
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Despite a major coup in being invited to play at the nine-day South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Texas, John O'Groats band Neon Waltz pulled out due to its connections with the US military and the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
The four-piece band featuring Jordan Shearer, Darren Coghill, and brothers Jamie and Kevin Swanson, played their first SXSW showcase, before realising the decision to appear was "wrong" and subsequently cancelled all further shows.
In a post on the official X account for Neon Waltz the band wrote: "We decided to pull out of our official SXSW Scotland showcase last night and all official SXSW events.
"We each try to support the Palestinian cause in our private lives and therefore it is hypocritical if we don't uphold that stance with our band. We cannot be complicit in the horror being inflicted on the Palestinian people as we speak. The united approach taken by the Irish bands was a powerful message and we applaud all of them. We regret that we made the wrong call on Monday by playing a show and wanted to put that right last night.
"We received no public funding for SXSW, and the band struggled to pull together enough money for the trip. Having played 6 wonderful shows in 7 nights across UK and Ireland immediately prior to SXSW, we were in a bit of a 'tour bubble'. We had our original line up back together in London for the first time in 6 years. We were buzzing to be doing something we'd dreamed about for years. By the time we drew breath in Austin, the first show was over and we realised that we'd f**** up. This is not an excuse; we recognise that the decision was wrong regardless of our circumstances.
"Playing the first show will remain a regret, but recognising that it is never too late to take the right course of action led us to cancel the second."
The band were asked to further elucidate on the decision but were unavailable for comment. Dozens of other bands, including VLURE from Glasgow, also pulled out of the controversial festival in Austin, Texas when a perceived connection to the Gaza conflict became apparent due to the US Army being a major sponsor of the event and SXSW connections with a supplier of weapons to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
Scottish musicians appearing at SXSW were organised by Wide Events which is funded by arts agency Creative Scotland. Other influential Scottish bands such as Mogwai maintained their festival schedule and Creative Scotland said that “it is for artists to do what is right for them and we support them in making these decisions".
Bonnie Prince Bob, a social commentator, artist and producer based in Edinburgh, said that Neon Waltz and VLURE had "put their humanity and politics before their careers" to join the boycott of SXSW.
He added: "Meanwhile, other Scottish bands such as Mogwai raised eyebrows by maintaining a presence and have been accused of hypocrisy after they publicly opposed Israel's actions and went as far as to have signed a musician's letter calling for a ceasefire.
"Neon Waltz have shown bravery and courage after playing that gig and then realising they had done something wrong. Their decision is to be lauded and respected as they went against the opinions of others in that Scottish contingent.
"Some think they can wear their 'objection to genocide' like a hat and just take it off when it's inconvenient to your gigging schedule. Neon Waltz has saved Scotland's dignity by showing solidarity to the boycott of SXSW while others show patronage to a music festival that is sponsored by the US military and arms companies complicit in the supply of weapons to Israel."
Influential music critic Hugo Fluendy added: "Creative Scotland, Mogwai and Wide Days maintaining an official presence at SXSW, in the face of a musician's boycott, was a new low for Scottish culture."
SXSW festival organisers have stated that they welcome "diverse viewpoints" including the decision of performers to withdraw from the event.
