Indie rock band Sticky Fingers has been dumped from the line-up of a music festival following protests from fans and artists.
Byron Bay Bluesfest, scheduled for April 6 to 10, said in a statement it “cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition.”
The decision comes amidst calls for sponsor boycotts and after two acts pulled out of the festival over the inclusion of Sticky Fingers, whose frontman Dylan Frost was accused in 2016 of making racist comments about Indigenous people. (He later cited substance abuse and mental health issues and said he is “wholeheartedly against racism.”) Trans rapper Miss Blanks had also publicly accused the band of white supremacy, misogyny, sexism and transphobia.
One of the acts that bailed out of Bluesfest, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, said on social media they “stand against misogyny, racism, and transphobia and violence” and were “surprised and saddened to see Bluesfest commit to presenting content that is in complete opposition to these values.”
In the statement, Bluesfest director Peter Noble said he had a “mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is built.”
He wrote: “The narrative that they continue to deserve to be cancelled, as well as anyone who publicly supports them, is difficult to accept, wherein a portion of society and media passes eternal judgment toward those, in this case, a diagnosed mentally ill person whom we feel doesn’t deserve the continued public scrutiny he’s being given.”
Noble pointed out that Sticky Fingers “has done so many good deeds that have never been reported, including building and funding recording studios and music education programs in disadvantaged regional communities.”
Sticky Fingers has not commented publicly on the controversy of the festival's decision. The band has nearly a dozen shows coming up throughout Europe.