SXSW can't escape controversy. Last year, dozens of artists pulled out of official showcases in protest of the festival's affiliation with Raytheon subsidiaries, as well as the US Army. Artists like Squirrel Flower pointed out how music shouldn't be tied to war profiteering and spoke out against the genocide happening in Palestine. Now, it seems that the first edition of SXSW London is facing massive resistance as well.
A couple weeks ago, SXSW London dropped its partnership with anti-Palestinian platform HÖR Berlin and canceled an event with a senior rep of Palantir, which is a military software company that supplies technology to Israel to fuel the Palestinian genocide. Musician Sarra Wild shared that she was part of the wave of artists that protested against the Palantir talk and agreed to play again after the event was cancelled. Soon after, she backed out again after learning that were other events, including talks with British prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron, that were kept hidden from the public.
At Blair's event, he encouraged Britain to embrace AI for public services, such as education and healthcare. The program also featured Technology Secretary and Labour Friends of Israel member Peter Kyle.
A series of artists are now pulling out of the event including Tara Lily, LVRA, Sam Akpro, Jasmine.4.T, and Rat Party.
Rat Party posted a statement about how they're pulling out because of the "deceptive" actions of SXSW. "As a collective we can no longer in good conscience participate in this act of art washing marginalised & PoC artists, and will be boycotting in solidarity with the artists and allies who have boycotted so far," they shared, and are looking to crowdfund for the resources lost. Read the full statement below:
After careful consideration we have decided that we will no longer be performing at SXSW on Tuesday.
Despite some really constructive dialogue and action taking place to block the involvement (and the removal thereof) Palantir and Barclays in the conference programme, we've been made aware of new leaked information that indicates that the festival will be going forward with panel talks involving the likes of Tony Blair (a known war criminal) and David Cameron.
Not only is this highly deceptive, but indicative of the kinds of people/ organisations SXSW are willing to platform. As a collective we can no longer in good conscience participate in this act of art washing marginalised & PoC artists, and will be boycotting in solidarity with the artists and allies who have boycotted so far.
We will be looking to raise £350 (the fee offered to us) to cover the loss of funds for the artists included on our lineup. Please donate if you can via the link in our bio.
Rat Party's event featuring Daskaran, NSFW, Jone Of Arx, and Iyesha was canceled. Sam Akpro also posted:
I have decided to pull out of my performance at SXSW London tonight. A few days ago a document was leaked by @MattKennard showing the invited speakers who had not been publicly announced. This includes Tony Blair and David Cameron who have been culpable in immense war crimes in the Middle East.
In addition to this, the festival is also platforming Kate O'Brien who is the 'CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE SUPERVISORY BOARD, NATO INNOVATION FUND' Israel is not a member of NATO but they are backed by countries such as the UK, US & France who are all members of NATO and who are all complicit in helping to support Israel's genocide of Palestinian people.
The CIA will also be returning to the festival.
I decided to take this gig in the faith that SXSW had cut ties with the US army and the defence contractor RTX which they have, but to no surprise they continue to deceive, and involve themselves with individuals who are complicit in the ongoing suffering in Palestine and beyond.
SXSW is using us smaller and minority artists to push information and ideologies that I do not align myself with.
I urge and hope that many other artists can make the decision to pull out of this week's festival.
Jasmine.4.T shared:
We are pulling out of @sxswlondon because we don't want to be part of artwashing Tony Blair and David Cameron. Having spent the last several weeks in talks with the music team at SXSWL, I will be boycotting. This is also in solidarity with other acts who have already boycotted the festival. The following views expressed are my own.
I believe the model which SXSW London has adopted to platform minority voices is untenable. Despite some constructive dialogue over several weeks with the music team, this has revealed deep structural failings within the business, resulting in my loss of trust in them as a feasible partner for minority artists.
Given the huge reach of the festival and the huge marketing campaign to art-wash it, I urge minority artists and allies to boycott.
This post will outline my reasoning behind this decision and some subsequent action points for those involved.
Ahmed Eid posted a few days ago that there will be a fundraiser tomorrow June 5 at Palestine House. All the income will go to The Palestine Music Space and Gaza Birds Singing. In an Instagram post, he shared:
S.X.S.W. , a US music showcase festival that features business and tech innovation, is happening next week in London for the first time and has extensive active collaborations with military forces, CIA, NATO, and even Tony Blair - thank you to @dhculturalworker for being this into our consciousness and @s_shamiii for sharing. In depth details via @itslooroll ❤️✊🏽
The genocide we have been witnessing is directly connected to these kind of detached, capital driven, whitewashed, racist structures that exploit life and artists - from here to @womex_theworldmusicexpo and at structures that got bought like @sonarfestival and beyond, we deserve better. We need justice driven structures now!
Please reach out to me or my mgmt @lorenzontheedge if you want to connect and share, tagg this with everyone it could be important for.
Free Palestine
SXSW released a response to the criticisms saying: "As one of the world's largest festivals across tech, music and the creative industries, SXSW London respects everyone's views and positions and aims to create an open, diverse space for debate and discussion.”
The statement continued: “Across the breadth of the festival, with over 800 speakers, we have a broad range of global leaders spanning the technology and cultural industries, their inclusion doesn't represent an endorsement of any particular position or viewpoint."
Steady stream of artists pulling out
We need more
It begins today https://t.co/oyifMkBIlz pic.twitter.com/YTpHBofS4F
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) June 2, 2025
