Dying Wish are the latest band from the metalcore/hardcore scene to take a stand against this year’s ‘Download Festival‘. The annual UK fest has seen a wave of bands withdraw from the event after taking issue with Barclays being a sponsor.
Branches of the aforementioned bank have also been the target of protesters across the UK this week, with some locations having their windows smashed, while others have been vandalized with protest-related graffiti.
Scowl, SPEED, Pest Control, Ithaca and more all withdrew from the ‘Download Festival‘ earlier this week in protest of Barclays being a primary sponsor of the event. A concerted social media campaign is also being waged against live entertainment events who align with the bank.
The main issue at hand is the aforementioned bank’s involvement in offering financial services to those facilitating weapons used by Israel in the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war taking place in Gaza. A spokesperson for Barclays told the BBC earlier this week that the company, “provides vital financial services to US, UK and European public companies that supply defence products to NATO and its allies. The defence sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defence companies is compatible with ESG considerations. Decisions on the implementation of arms embargos to other nations are the job of respective elected governments.”
Several of the aforementioned artists who withdrew from the festival in protest have since lined up a benefit show in Birmingham, UK for Palestinian-related aid charities. PNW metalcore outfit Dying Wish are the latest to add their name to the list of artists taking issue with the involvement of Barclays, offering the following threat on social media:
Either Download will drop the Barclay’s sponsorship or we will be dropping the festival. We will not be involved without it. We appreciate your patience over the last few days as we sort this out. Shout out to every band and person involved in the boycott and FREE PALESTINE ????
— Dying Wish (@dyingwishhc) June 13, 2024
Interestingly, at one point, it seems that the Barclaycard sponsor logo disappeared from the official ‘Download Festival‘ website for a short time this week, but has since been reinstated.
At least one artist has decided to go about protesting in a different manner. Split Chain have decided to go ahead with their set at the festival, pledging to donate their entire artist fee towards Palestinian-related aid charities. The group appear to have been added to the bill in light of the withdrawal of some of the aforementioned artists.
Meanwhile, Falling In Reverse vocalist Ronnie Radke recently took issue with the likes of Scowl and SPEED for their decision to back out of the festival, calling them “communist poseurs”, citing instances of past alleged hypocrisy.
