'Don’t come here': Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responds to musicians boycotting SXSW over US Army sponsorship



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) succinctly dismissed bands that have announced boycotts over one of the state's biggest yearly events, the South by Southwest festival.

The annual event has put films, music, interactive media, as well as conferences on display since 1987 in Austin, Texas, which is typically seen as the most art-centric city in the state.

The typically progressive art scene that is prevalent at the festival has decided that the event's sponsors went too far in 2024 with the inclusion of the United States Army as a major backer.

Multiple artists have announced that they have pulled out of the festival over the sponsorship, which they have connected to the Israel-Palestine war in many cases.

Rap group Kneecap from Northern Ireland announced they would not be joining the festival, saying they "cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has 'The U.S Army' as a 'super Sponsor,'" the group explained.

They also claimed that other sponsors like RTX were "selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians."

We will not be appearing at @sxsw festival. \ud83d\udc47
— (@)

Brooklyn-based artist Okay Shalom posted on her Instagram that she has dropped out of the festival.

"There’s always a right thing to do and it’s almost never as complicated as the establishment wants you to believe. and sometimes it costs you a dream, but a dream is a dream and not a life. palestinians deserve to dream. they deserve to live," she wrote.

"I am pulling out specifically because of the fact that SXSW is platforming defense contractors including Raytheon subsidiaries as well as the US Army, a main sponsor of the festival," added artist Ella Williams, who goes by Squirrel Flower.

An English group called the Lambrini Girls were less specific, saying they were "trying to find a way to [sic] out of the situation whilst keeping our moral integrity in tact [sic]."

With dozens of bands having reportedly pulled out, Gov. Abbott responded to a media report on the topic through his X account.

"Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship. Bye. Don’t come back. Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here," Abbott wrote.

Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship.

Bye. Don’t come back.

Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command.

San Antonio is Military City USA.

We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas.

If you don’t like it, don’t come here.
https://t.co/t3RyQgLRKN
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 12, 2024

As USA Today reported, Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of defense contractor RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation), sponsored two showcases at SXSW.

The U.S. Army also announced themselves as a "Super Sponsor" for the festival, likely to reach a younger audience amid recruiting woes.

The progressive boycotts fail to mention any number of the other corporate sponsors that have been funding the festival for years. Volkswagen, alcohol brand White Claw, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, credit card company Capital One, and more are listed as "notable alumni" sponsors of the event.

For 2024, sponsors also include Delta Air Lines and Itau, Latin America's biggest financial institution.

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Beto O'Rourke calls Greg Abbott an 'oligarch' and 'thug,' suggests a statewide gun buyback in Texas



Beto O'Rourke compared current Texas Governor Greg Abbott to a Russian oligarch and proposed a statewide gun buyback program during a Saturday speaking engagement at South by Southwest.

KVUE-10, a local ABC affiliate, reported that O'Rourke was the headline speaker at an event hosted by CEO and co-founder of the Texas Tribune, Evan Smith

Smith asked O'Rourke — who has become known for launching a string of quixotic political campaigns — why he was running for major political office for the third time.

O'Rourke said, "Because I have this extraordinary opportunity to join amazing people in service to my state and to this country. Yet there is no higher honor. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I love the fact that we're in this race right now."

Smith subsequently asked O'Rourke about his opposition in the gubernatorial campaign — current Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

O'Rourke responded by calling him an "authoritarian."

He said, "I just had the chance to meet with the ambassador from the [European Union]. We talked about the fact that you're seeing the continued rise of authoritarians and thugs across the world, and we have our own right here in the state of Texas."

Smith responded by asking him: "Greg Abbott is a thug in your mind?"

To which O'Rourke responded: "He's a thug. He's an authoritarian. Let me make the case not only to this guy, to his own incompetence, not keep the lights on in the energy capital of the planet last February. But when people like Kelcy Warren and other energy company CEOs made more than $11 billion in profit over five days, selling gas for 200 times the going rate, not only did he not claw back those illegal profits … but he's taking millions of dollars in payoffs from these same people."

O'Rourke added, "He's got his own oligarch here in the state of Texas. You think this stuff only exists in Russia or in other parts of the world?"

Previously, O'Rourke attained a good deal of notoriety for his aggressive stance on gun control.

Notably, during a 2020 Democratic primary debate, he proudly proclaimed, "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."

However, in mid-March, The Hill reported that O'Rourke told reporters that he wants to "defend the Second Amendment" and that he is "not interested in taking anything from anyone."

Now, O'Rourke is suggested that the state of Texas implement a buyback program encouraging people to sell their firearms to the government.

He told Smith, "I don't think anyone should have [assault-style weapons], and if I can find consensus within the Legislature to have a law in the state of Texas that allows us to buy those AK-47s and AR-15s back, we will."

As Smith noted early on in the discussion, this is O'Rourke's third time running for higher office.

In 2018 he attempted to unseat Ted Cruz from the United States Senate, and in 2020 he tried to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Beto O'Rourke in Conversation with Evan Smith youtu.be