South by Southwest - or SXSW - the annual US conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals has dropped its US Army sponsor following protests at this year's event. Following a tumultuous year in which multiple acts opted out, SXSW festival have announced that they have dropped the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation as sponsors for next year’s edition. More than 60 artists refused to play at the festival in Austin, Texas last March, boycotting the event because of its ties to defense groups that supply Israeli weapons in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Shortly before the festival began, Squirrel Flower cancelled their SXSW shows, citing festival sponsorship from the US Army. In a statement, Squirrel Flower wrote: “A music festival should not include war profiteers. I refuse to be complicit in this and withdraw my art and labor in protest.
” Other artists which boycotted the event included , Gruff Rhys, Lambrini Girls and Rachel Chinouriri. The US Army said it was “proud” to sponsor SXSW, which it called “a unique opportunity”, and in the wake of those cancellations, Texas governor Greg Abbott said on X: “Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S.
Army sponsorship. Bye. Don’t come back.
” At the time, SXSW responded to the cancellations by releasing a statement: “We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exe.