Sixty artists have bowed out over the festival's partnership with the U.S. Army and defense contractors. The list is growing.
The U.S. Army has a booth at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo at the Austin Convention Center this year.
"I didn't think about the perspective of how much dropping out of … shows affects the clubs and the bookers," said Bianculli, whose band is still performing at unofficial shows."They're scrambling to fill holes because everyone's dropping out." "I think there was kind of a turning point this year for me at least, because ... it's not like the first year that they've had some unsavory partners," he said."Sometimes putting pressure on people, making people feel uncomfortable is important."
SXSW didn’t respond to KUT's request for comment, but tweeted Tuesday in response to Abbott that it respects artists' opinions. It said the defense industry “has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today.” The festival added, however, that it"does not agree" with Abbott.
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