The Brighton four-piece were one of the first acts to drop out of the festival in response to Barclays' sponsorship.
Photo: The New Eves
Brighton band The New Eves were among the first groups to withdraw from The Great Escape as part of the Bands Boycott Barclays protest. This followed their withdrawal from SXSW on similar terms in response to the US Military's sponsorship of that festival. Having had a tremendous year in the wake of the release of their first three singles, they were set to be a must-see of the weekend. Now, they can be found at a number of free, unofficial showcase events. We put a few questions to the band about their withdrawal from the festival.
Firstly, what does the Great Escape mean to the band?
There were a lot of people who were excited for us that we were playing the Great Escape. It had been pitched to us as a great opportunity to showcase our music to people from around the world.
Though as a band from Brighton it doesn't mean that much to us, most of the Brighton music scene never get asked to play and tickets cost a lot, so not many local artists actually get to go to the festival. This would have been our first time attending The Great Escape, despite some of us living in Brighton for years or even most of our lives!
Why did you take the decision to withdraw?
We chose to pull out of the Great Escape and also Latitude festival because we wanted to support the organised boycott of Barclays in solidarity with the people of Palestine and also due to Barclays major involvement in funding fossil fuel companies.
You might think that your actions don't really matter but there really is strength in numbers. For a boycott to make an impact you need the biggest amount of people possible to participate. We want to support other bands/labels etc that also have pulled out and encourage as many as possible to do the same. Solidarity is everything.
What were your reservations in withdrawing from the festival?
Activism on social media can be a minefield. We see the horrors and injustice going on in the world and we want to do something about it. The danger is, do we end up not making a difference in the way we want and end up instead just misdirecting hate at struggling bands and artists navigating an extremely exploitative industry. We are deeply against Barclays actions but after research we were still unsure of the extent of their involvement with The Great Escape. If you look deeply enough into any festival or event with corporate sponsors you are likely to find a link to something bad and it can be hard to find out how tenuous or strong that link is. We chose to pull out because of the festival's reluctance to share the details of their relationship with Barclays. Also because of the collective focussed action. When people band together there is an actual opportunity to be heard and make some kind of difference.
How do you respond to other bands going ahead with their sets at the Festival, including many who have signed the petition calling for the Barclays sponsorship to be dropped.
The music industry is a tough place, especially for those just starting out. As mentioned earlier it seems the majority of major events and big labels will be in some way linked to something unsavoury. This, of course, is a huge problem but it is a problem of the late-stage capitalist system that we all operate within. Something needs to change but unfortunately this responsibility often falls on the shoulders of smaller artists/bands, rather than the industry giants. Though well intended, pressuring artists to withdraw from certain things can come with large costs to themselves and their future. There can be situations where only privileged people are able to drop out and burn their professional bridges. Directing hate at those still deciding to play isn't going to further the cause. We have strength together and we should support each other, no matter our circumstances.
That being said, we encourage everyone who can to join the boycott! Remember that without our music, these festivals are nothing. We are so much more valuable than the music industry makes us feel.
The New Eves are performing the following shows in Brighton this weekend:
Thurs 16th – Daltons, 3pm
Thurs 16th – The Pipeline, 8.50pm
Fri 17th – The Walrus, 4.45pm
Fri 17th – The Pipeline, 8pm
Fri 17th – Folklore Rooms, 10pm
Sat 18th – Bella Union Store, 1pm
Our own statement on withdrawing from covering The Great Escape this year can be found here.
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