The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival has long been a convergence of music, tech, startups and “great minds” like Barack and Michelle Obama, Pete Buttigieg, AOC and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few.

SXSW also showcases a plethora of lesser-known “talent”. There will be fewer of these lesser known artists gracing the stage with their presence in Austin, Texas this year. Why? Because The U.S. Army is one of the sponsors of the festival. SXSW had this to say yesterday afternoon:

We are an organization 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 exercise their right to free speech.

Across the globe, we are witnessing unspeakable tragedies, the rise of repressive regimes, and the increasing spread of violent conflict. It’s more crucial than ever that we come together to solve these greater humanitarian issues.

The defense industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today. These institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives.

The Army’s sponsorship is part of our commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world. In regard to Collins Aerospace, they participated this year as a sponsor of two SXSW Pitch categories, giving entrepreneurs visibility and funding for potentially game-changing work.

We have and will continue to support human rights for all. The situation in the Middle East is tragic, and it illuminates the heightened importance of standing together against injustice.”-Carys Anderson, The Austin Chronicle

This statement come from SXSW after Texas Governor, Greg Abbott had this to say about artists pulling out of the festival on X:

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

Who left? In the past week, several artists, including Kneecap, Scowl, Squirrel Flower, Eliza McLamb, Shalom, and Mamalarky, to name a few.

Never heard of any of ’em.

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.” -Squirrel Flower/Ella Williams

Says the gender studies/college music major. Someone like Ella Williams had the privilege to major in a useless gender/sexual studies degree at Grinnell College and not have to join the Army or go to war for the country she probably hates. Yeah, good, Ms. Williams. Stay the hell home.

But don’t worry. SXSW “Does not agree” with Greg Abbott. They just wanted to throw THAT out there into the ether. But they do agree, to some degree, with the US Army, who is throwing money at the festival.

Perhaps SXSW needs to start with a history lesson on why the military exists, and what the country might be if they didn't

— SR-71 Fan (@SR71_addict) March 12, 2024

More acts have also joined in dropping their performances at SXSW because war, war is stoopid. Scowl, Snõõper, Horse Jumper of Love, They Are Getting a Body of Water, and Austin-based artists TC Superstar, Buffalo Nichols, Lucía Beyond, and Madison Baker.

Again, anyone hear of these cats? Didn’t think so.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation even protested outside the Convention Center demanding that SXSW disinvite Department of Defense affiliates from the festival last Friday, The U.S. Army is still on SXSW’s list of sponsors. And, the show must go on. Money talks. BS walks.

These “walk-outs” crack me up, really. Don’t they know that the new Army is woker than woke? No combat tests required to partake in “The Genocide”. Hell, transgender soldiers can go and fight the war in Gaza if they want to. And, what’s even more awesome is that an overweight transgender female-to-male is “just as physically fit” to fight for his, her, their (whatever) country as the 18 year-old male gym rat who enlisted right out of high school. They can be combat buddies, in fact. The new woke Army will make sure this salty young man takes diversity training and uses inclusive language on the battlefield so as not to hurt the feelings of anyone in his platoon. The new woke Army is so screwed up and discombobulated, some of its soldiers don’t know what they are fighting for anymore. They sat through too many mind-numbing sessions on Ibram X. Kendi’s on How to Be an Antiracist, mandated by their feckless Generals who sit around and pick their noses at the Pentagon. (Too harsh? Didn’t think so.) These new recruits are told Capitalism is bad and, therefore, America is bad.

I honestly don’t understand why these former SXSW acts are opposed to the Army sponsoring the conference. After all, the Army is not exactly cranking out killing machines anymore- just totalitarian Marxists or Diverse-Beyond-Belief “resiliency trainers“/officers who adorn their desks with rainbow-colored teddy bears and pronoun plaques:

If anything, these pretentious SXSW hipsters should actually embrace the Army. They love this stuff. This is Joe Biden’s Army. The United States Army has more in common with the liberals than these “artists” think. They even believe in Climate Change (bring on the electric tanks)!

SXSW continues on for another few days. One may still get a glimpse of “Duchess”/Keynote (Meghan Markle). Oh, the joy.

(Sigh.) If only a meteor hit Austin…

Of course, I jest. God Bless Texas and Greg Abbott. To those “artists” who will not be in attendance this year? Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

Photo Credit: Librarygroover, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons/Cropped