SXSW Stands By Military, Weapons Maker Partnerships As Bands Boycott Over Gaza

After dozens of bands canceled appearances at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival as part of a protest over connections to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the mammoth Austin-based event defended its partnerships with the U.S. Army and a weapons manufacturer Tuesday.

The bands objected to SXSW partnerships with the U.S. Army and Collins Aerospace , among others. Collins is a subsidiary of RTX, the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon.

“I have decided to pull out of my official SXSW showcases in protest of SXSW’s ties to the defense industry and in support of the Palestinian people,” Ella Williams, known by the stage name Squirrel Flower, wrote earlier this month.

Kneecap, a Northern Irish hip-hop trio, wrote on Instagram Sunday, one day before the music portion of the festival began, that they could not attend an event that platforms “the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children.”

On Tuesday, the Austin For Palestine Coalition ― an activist group that SXSW has threatened with legal action ― published the names of more than 80 artists who they said had canceled SXSW appearances as part of the protest.

“The boycott of SXSW grows every day,” the group said. “No more war profiteers and warmongers in this city! Free Palestine. Ceasefire Now.”

“Bye. Don’t come back,” Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X Tuesday, referring to bands that had pulled out of the festival.

Referring to the governor’s post, SXSW’s account wrote,“SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott,” and saidit respected “the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”

But the festival account also defended its ties to the weapons