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SXSW Drops U.S. Army Sponsorship Ahead of 2025 Festival

SXSW announced it has cut ties with the U.S. Army following a 2024 festival that saw artists pulling out of the lineup over the sponsorship deal.

The organizers of South by Southwest announced Wednesday that it has cut ties with the U.S. Army and other weapons manufacturers following a 2024 festival that saw artists pulling out of the lineup due to sponsorship deals with those entities. In March, acts like Kneecap, Scowl, Squirrel Flower, Eliza McLamb, Shalom, and Mamalarky all withdrew from SXSW due to the fest being in part sponsored by the U.S. Army. “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’s Ella Williams wrote on Instagram at the time.

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