Three women have come forward to accuse Ken Stringfellow, co-leader of the Posies, of various forms of sexual misconduct, including physical assault, manipulation, and forcible sexual assault that sure sounds a whole lot like rape. Stringfellow denies all of the accusations, but the Posies, Stringfellow’s band since 1986, are breaking up. Stringfellow’s bandmates in the Posies, including longtime co-leader Jon Auer, say that they believe Stringfellow’s accusers and that they will no longer work with Stringfellow.

The accusations against Stringfellow have come to light in a long reported article from KUOW, the University Of Washington’s public radio station. The article outlines a number of accusations against Stringfellow:

One of the women accusing Stringfellow said that he forcibly had sex with her in a men’s room at a hotel in San Francisco.

A second woman, who was sleeping in a hotel room upstairs when this occurred, said she was in an abusive relationship with Stringfellow beginning in 2015.

A third woman said that Stringfellow bit her arm as she drove him back from a show, leaving marks and bruising. She also said that she woke up early one morning to Stringfellow having sex with her.

Speaking to KUOW, Stringfellow says that he “categorically” denies all of those accusations:

I would never want to harm anyone with whom I have a relationship — sexual or otherwise. Consent has been the foundation of every sexual relationship I’ve had, and violence has never been a part of any of those relationships. It simply is not who I am as a person who respects women.

In the article, Stringfellow and his wife also make a joint statement:

As a family, we view sexual assault as a very serious issue. As an ethically non-monogamous married couple, we are particularly attuned to the importance of consent and communication in relationships…

Over the years, Ken has had consensual and respectful sexual relationships with other women, including the women making the allegations. Our commitment to each other made room for him to do that.

All of Stringfellow’s accusers have made their names public, and they’ve come forward after linking up with one another on social media and learning each other’s stories. Jon Auer says that he left the Posies immediately after hearing about the accusations against Stringfellow: “I confronted Ken about it on a phone call on Aug 4, 2021, and cancelled our upcoming shows, and flat-out told him that I wouldn’t be working with him anymore.”

Drummer Frankie Siragusa, a Posies fan who joined the band in 2015, also says that he left the band immediately: “I had a ton of tour posters hung up and framed on my walls, and lots of Posies stuff from tours on display in my house. I took them all down.” The band shelved an album that had been nearly completed.

The Posies had a long run on DGC Records in the ’90s, and some of their songs went into rotation on alt-rock radio. They’ve remained cult favorites ever since, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Stringfellow has also released a number of solo albums and played with a great many side projects. He served as a touring member of R.E.M. during that band’s later years, and he and Auer were also members of Big Star during that band’s reunion in the ’90s and ’10s. The full range of accusations against Stringfellow is graphic and disturbing, and it’s all in KUOW’s article, which you can find here.

UPDATE: Jody Stephens of Big Star has released a statement affirming that he believes Stringfellow’s accusers and Stringfellow “has been removed from any participation in our upcoming performances that involved him.” The full text of Stephens’ statement:

I have read the NPR story and the accusations made by several women about Ken Stringfellow. I believe them. The hurt and abuse experienced by them is unimaginable. Ken has been removed from any participation in our upcoming performances that involved him.

I hope and pray that those survivors of his both physical and emotional abuse can find their ways to healing.

I hope and pray that Ken truly recognizes and sincerely apologies for the profound harm he has caused them and others. Taking responsibility for this abusive behavior and finding meaningful treatment are his only way forward for me.

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