The Antihero Podcast, who have been serving as promoters for the upcoming ‘Shell Shock II‘ event in Orlando, FL, have commented briefly on the recent backlash the aforementioned event has faced. Booked for October 19th in Orlando, FL, that event is intended to double as a charity and awareness event for veterans with PTSD.
Over the weekend, in light of divisive right-wing celebrity Kyle Rittenhouse being booked as a ‘VIP Guest’ for the event, along with unspecified “other associated entities”, headliners Evergreen Terrace exited the bill. The band stated this past Sunday, September 29th:
“Evergreen Terrace has always supported and continues to support philanthropic events for veterans, PTSD awareness, child poverty, and many more, but we will not align with an event promoting a perceived murderer such as Kyle Rittenhouse capitalizing off of their pseudo celebrity.
Unfortunately we did not do our due diligence with this particular event. Even after they offered to pull Kyle from the event, we discovered several associated entities that we simply do not agree with.
As advocates for free speech we are respectfully canceling the Shell Shock festival. We will be personally contributing to a veterans charity and urge you to do the same. The promoters have been nothing less than understanding.
“Lines we draw in the sand…depend on where we stand.”
See you soon, Orlando.”
Southpaw have since followed suit, announcing their departure from the bill yesterday, September 30th:
“As of yesterday afternoon, Southpaw dropped off of Shell Shock fest in Orlando, FL.
We knew going into this, that the festival was veteran based, which we support.
But knew nothing of a particular individual being a main focus of support for the show until after accepting it.
Due to events that have taken place and drama surrounding this particular individual, we made the decision to respectfully step down.
This simply is not what we signed up for. Period.
Southpaw does not and not get involved in politics. Therefore we not align ourselves with it.
Southpaw is about the music. Perseverance as an individual and the culture of hardcore.”
Likewise, Let Me Bleed pulled out of the fest yesterday, stating:
“Let Me Bleed has decided to officially withdraw from the Shell Shock music festival. Given the subject matter of our lyrics that center around struggles with mental health, we thought it only fitting we play a benefit show for military and first responder victims of PTSD. But after realizing that there were going to be a number of high profile individuals in attendance as invited VIP guests whom LMB does not align with or wish to be associated with in any sense we decided it be best to remove ourselves from the lineup of the show.
Though we are advocates of free speech we are collectively not a political band. We make music we hope anyone can enjoy and relate to. It wasn’t until after we agreed to play the festival that these problematic and potentially alienating entities were being used to market the show and that is something we simply cannot condone.
We apologize to any of our friends and fans who had planned on attending, we hope you can understand the actions we have taken and hope to make it up to you in the future.”
Today (October 01st) saw American Hollow follow suit, offering:
“It has come to our attention that we must address a recent event.
American Hollow has decided to respectfully step away from any involvement with Shell Shock Fest in Orlando. We originally joined the event to be able to help those who have fought and continue to fight to protect this country, while also raising awareness on PTSD.
As the show became more and more politicized we realized that it was necessary for us to excuse ourselves. American Hollow does not align with nor do we associate ourselves with any politics. As individuals in this group we have many beliefs and viewpoints, but as a band we focus primarily on our artistry. Let it be known that we fully and unequivocally support the military and first responders, especially those who struggle with mental health issues. We have no qualms with the Shell Shock family and we hope our fans will respect our decision.”
A previous listing for the event also listed Until I Die, What We Seek, Chasing Airplanes and The Cunningham Wake among scheduled performers. In light of the controversy surrounding the festival, The Antihero Podcast took to their Instagram yesterday to share the following post:
“We have been silent. But we are prepping. The liberal mob attempted to destroy Shell Shock. But we will not allow it. This is now about more than a concert. This is a war of ideology.”
