SXSW Musicians Trash Greg Abbott Over Texas Ban

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been publicly criticized by a number of the musicians who he told "don't come back" to his state, after they pulled out of South by Southwest (SXSW) over the U.S. Army's sponsorship of the festival.

The internationally recognized event, which brings thousands of visitors to Austin annually, showcases music, film and interactive media and was this year scheduled to run March 8-16. However, this year's festival kicked off amid heightened tensions in the U.S. and around the world due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The U.S. is the foremost supplier of weapons to Israel, and several of those systems are being deployed in the conflict. The U.S. Army is also spearheading the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

On Tuesday, a lengthy list of musicians including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom, Squirrel Flower and Sprints began pulling out of SXSW in protest at the Army sponsorship, prompting defiance from Abbott.

The Republican wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship. Bye. Don't come back. Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don't like it, don't come here."

Some of the musicians have now hit back at Abbott. One post shared on the X account of Texas-formed band Trauma Ray told Abbott to "eat s*** and die" in response to his comments.

The account for Gel, a punk bank hailing from New Jersey, shared the governor's post and wrote: "Bro is so mad at us." The comment was rounded out with a laughing emoji.

Adam O'Regan, guitarist for Irish alt-pop band Soda Blonde, spoke out more extensively in a radio interview with Newstalk.

After saying that it was a "big deal" for the band to get accepted as performers at SXSW, O'Regan said that they soon went from "really excited" to boycotters.

"A few short days actually before flying off, we learned about some of the partnerships that we just kind of felt conflicted with our core principles and values," he explained. "And, you know, we met up and we discussed at length for about four hours—what it would look like to go and what it would look like to not go.

"Ultimately, for us, [we] just came to the decision that, you know, we just couldn't in good conscience go and stand on a stage and perform knowing that there are profiteers for, you know, in the tents next door, as it were."

Addressing Abbott's response on X, he added: "Yeah, that was fun. That was a fun tweet. We're under no illusion as well, like, the U.S. is the U.S. and Texas is Texas, and so as one person pointed out on Twitter ... people go to the grocery store with guns in their pockets essentially over there.

"We're under no illusion that what our decision was gonna do was going to influence the U.S. Army or the culture in America necessarily, but, as I say, for us personally, it felt like the only decision we could make."

Newsweek has contacted Abbott's office and the U.S. Department of Defense via email for comment.

Prior to Abbott's remarks, Kneecap had said in a statement on X, "We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has the U.S. Army as a 'super sponsor,'" and cited the supply of arms to Israel.

The group added that backing out would have "a significant financial impact" on the group, "But it isn't an iota of hardship when compared to the unimaginable suffering being inflicted every minute, every day on the people of Gaza."

In an email, representatives of SXSW directed Newsweek to a series of posts on X in which they said they do not agree with Abbott's comments.

"SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott," SXSW said. "We are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech. Across the globe, we are witnessing unspeakable tragedies, the rise of repressive regimes, and the increasing spread of violent conflict. It's more crucial than ever that we come together to solve these greater humanitarian issues.

"The Army's sponsorship is part of our commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world. We have and will continue to support human rights for all. The situation in the Middle East is tragic, and it illuminates the heightened importance of standing together against injustice."