AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — After more than 80 bands and speakers dropped out of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival due to the U.S. Army’s “super sponsorship” of the event, a pro-Palestinian group calling for a ceasefire is hosting the bands outside Austin City Hall on Thursday.

Earlier this week, several bands started announcing they would pull out of the nine-day festival in protest of the United State’s ongoing support of Israel as its war with Hamas rages on.

The U.S. is Israel’s largest supplier of military aid. Israel began attacking the Gaza region after an Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas militants, who killed 1,200 people in Israel and took nearly 300 hostages. To date, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to its health ministry.

The Austin for Palestine Coalition is hosting the bands at the Austin City Hall Plaza to perform, while also offering a makeshift street festival for attendees to “provide a human connection to the Palestinian people and their culture.”

“It’s inappropriate to be having the U.S. Army and all of these other defense contractors and weapons makers being the main sponsors of this year South by Southwest, especially in the context of what’s happening,” said Cliff Clive, a member of the coalition.

SXSW attracts more than 300,000 people each year and generates nearly $381 million for the Austin economy.

One of the drop-out bands — Kneecap — said backing out will have “a significant financial impact” on the group in a statement on social media.

Clive said his group rented the plaza for a week in hopes of pressuring Austin city council members to pass a resolution in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. He said after the bands dropped out, they wanted to give them a space to perform and “speak their mind.”

Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the news online, telling them “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,” Abbott wrote.

The official page for SXSW responded to the governor saying it disagrees with his position.

Festival organizers said in a series of social media posts that music at the core of the festival, and it fully respects the decision the artists made. SXSW also defended its sponsorship from the U.S. Army, saying it is part of its “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,” festival organizers wrote.

The Austin for Palestine Coalition will host bands on the city council plaza until 10 p.m. on Thursday.