Tyler Hoover, host of The Antihero Podcast and founder of the ‘Shell Shock‘ festival, has issued a new video statement regarding the aforementioned controversial festival//fundraiser for PTSD. That event’s lineup began to unravel last weekend, when headliners Evergreen Terrace announced their departure from the bill.
The Floridian metalcore outfit indicated in a statement, that their decision to leave the festival stemmed from the later announced involvement of divisive right-wing celebrity Kyle Rittenhouse as a ‘VIP guest’, along with objections to “other associated entities.”
Rittenhouse infamously shot three men — two of them fatally — during altercations that occurred amid the August 2020 riots in Kenosha, WI. He was later acquitted on the various charges he faced in relation to the shootings, including several charges of homicide.
The departure of Evergreen Terrace was closely followed by several other metalcore/hardcore artists originally booked for the bill, including Southpaw, who themselves in part stated of their decision:
“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.”
Other bands who participated in the ensuing mass exodus, included Let Me Bleed & American Hollow. Pouring some fuel on the fire, The Antihero Podcast took to their Instagram on Monday, September 30th, to state the following of the backlash the festival was facing:
“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.”
Since then, the festival locked in a new headliner in Slipknot cover band SiC Tx. Rapper Rocky Luciano and country artist Michael Lisenby have also newly been added to the bill. Per the fest’s original lineup announcement, performances from Until I Die, What We Seek, Chasing Airplanes and The Cunningham Wake are all expected to take place as planned when the festival kicks off October 19th at the Level 13 Event Center in Orlando, FL.
This past Wednesday, October 02nd, Hoover took to his Instagram to issue the following statement to the festival’s detractors:
“What’s up? Tyler here, owner, CEO and founder of Shell Shock. And guess what? I’m here to tell you, you’re not punk, you’re not hardcore. You people, the people that are trolling and the people that are talking sh*t, you guys are the mentally ill portion of society. You guys are the ones that are manipulated. You guys are the ones that sold tickets to.
Every single person and every single band and every single promoter and every single outlet that I’ve talked to have told me ‘I’m conservative, but the fans…’ The lynch mob here to take down ‘Shell Shock‘ will not win. It doesn’t matter, ’cause guess what, you can’t kill spirit. You can’t kill punk. And you can’t f*cking kill ‘Shell Shock‘.”
Hoover added in a caption to that video, “Yall are raging for the machine ”
