Artists have been pulling out of Sónar and Field Day festivals due to their “complicity” with the private equity firm KKR, which holds significant investments in companies that have ties to Israel during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Now, both festivals have issued statements.
Both Sónar and Field Day are owned by Superstruct Entertainment, which was bought by KKR last year. A letter from the BDS Movement that's been signed by over 70 acts urges the Barcelona-based electronic music festival to “take a clear ethical stance in light of its financial ties with complicit entities involved in Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Florentino, Objekt, DJ Haram, Kode9, Loraine James, Manuka Honey, Om Unit, Shannen SP, and Jokkoo Collective are some of the artists who signed. Sonar responded with a statement on social media today:
Sónar is a platform that promotes diversity, inclusion and respects the freedom of expression of its artists, participants and collaborators.
The Sónar team has always worked and will always work with the premise of promoting respect for universal human rights. The festival strongly condemns all forms of violence.
For 30 years, Sónar has nurtured cultural movements from around the globe, acting as a space for these communities and their voices.
An open letter to London's Field Day festival received over 230 signatures from artists including Brian Eno, Jyoty, Ben UFO, and Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja. In their statement, Field Day wrote:
First of all, please allow us to apologise for taking this long to respond to the recently published open letter and to release a public statement.
Since Field Day began as an independent festival in 2007, our aim has always been, simply, to give you an incredible festival experience with the very best artists from around the world. Through many challenging times, various venues and several changes of ownership, Field Day has never compromised on those ambitions and values, putting on the best show we can in the way we always have.
By partnering with Superstruct Entertainment in April 2023, the future of the festival and its creative and operational independence were secured - the ownership changed but not the ethos. Since then, as has been reported, they have been bought by KKR, of which we had no say in, which has prompted a passionate discussion.
As a high-profile event operating in a global context, our team, of course, recognises the strength of feeling of the artists involved and the fans who attend. The open letter itself says that this situation is "not the choice of Field Day" and we are sorry that some artists have chosen not to perform at this year's festival.
We have a new home this year but Field Day is, at its heart, the same as it ever was: the dedicated team who put it on, the fans who attend and the artists who bring the soundtrack from all over the world. We remain in full creative control of Field Day and our values remained unchanged.
We know there will be many of you out there who are hurt and angry about this situation. We hope that this helps you to understand the position of the festival team.We look forward to seeing many of you in Brockwell Park next weekend.
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