It's been a tumultuous winter for Ekko Astral. Soon, they'll be stepping back to "recalibrate."
In January, the DC punk band revealed the lineup for the second annual installment of their trans rights music festival Liberation Weekend. In February, they announced their second album, the beltway is burning. Since then, things have gone awry. Band leader Jael Holzman filed a peace order against departing drummer Miri Tyler, and the legal action became the subject of local media coverage. Topshelf Records subsequently dropped Ekko Astral and canceled the release of the new album, which the band now intends to self-release. The band's remaining members released a statement explaining their side of the story and disputing aspects of Washington City Paper's coverage of their legal situation.
In a new message Wednesday night, Ekko Astral announced that they're postponing the release of the beltway is burning, canceling their performance at Liberation Weekend, and scaling back their involvement in the fest by "passing along roles to a growing team of volunteers." Before stepping back from the spotlight, the band plans to honor its touring commitments this month opening for Mclusky on the West Coast and performing at Boise's Treefort Music Festival. They're encouraging their audience to still attend Liberation Weekend: "This festival has always been bigger than this band."
Here's the message from Ekko:
Hello friends,
At the end of March, we will be supporting mclusky on the West Coast, and playing Treefort Fest.
On that run, you can look forward to never-performed songs from our upcoming record, 'the beltway is burning'. We hope to see you all there. After these immediate commitments, Ekko Astral needs time to recalibrate.
We wanted to move by our original schedule, but we've realized we would benefit from more time and bandwidth to give beltway, our pride and joy, the moment it deserves. We are postponing the album and all other performances. To our fans, we're sorry for this delay. We appreciate all the support you've shown for this band.
Liberation Weekend II will still happen as planned. The event has the same great team behind last year, and we've been passing along roles to a growing team of volunteers who are making sure this fundraiser for trans rights and care is an absolute blast.
Ekko Astral is no longer playing Liberation Weekend II. We urge you to please still go. This festival has always been bigger than this band. Please share the event with your friends and family. Not only is this fest filled with incredible talent but it is vital to support trans rights, trans care, and trans art right now.
We will be back.
TOUR DATES:
03/25 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux (Treefort Music Festival)
03/26 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile - Old Location (w/ Mclusky)
03/28 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater (w/ Mclusky)
03/30 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel (w/ Mclusky)
03/31 - Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater (w/ Mclusky)
