Several bands have shunned an upcoming metal festival to protest organizers billing them alongside Kyle Rittenhouse, the gunman who shot dead protesters amid a racial justice demonstration in 2020.
Shell Shock II, which is scheduled for October 19 in Orlando, Florida, had announced a special guest appearance from Rittenhouse, prompting headliner Evergreen Terrace to pull out of the event, Loudwire reports.
At least three other acts—Southpaw, Let Me Bleed and American Hollow— have now followed suit, apparently forcing organizers to bump a Slipknot cover band to the top spot.
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Rittenhouse rose to infamy four years ago when, aged just 17, he traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, supposedly to protect businesses in the city from looters amid protests that erupted following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Having shot three people amid the unrest, two of whom died, Rittenhouse later successfully claimed self-defense and was acquitted of all charges.
The case catapulted Rittenhouse to right-wing stardom with him appearing on broadcasts alongside Tucker Carlson and even meeting with then-President Donald Trump, who described him as “really a nice young man.”
“Evergreen Terrace has always supported and continues to support philanthropic events for veterans, PTSD awareness, child poverty, and many more,” the ex-headliner posted on Facebook. “But we will not align with an event promoting murderers such as Kyle Rittenhouse capitalizing on their pseudo celebrity.”
The band added the festival had since offered to pull Rittenhouse from the lineup, but that they’d held their ground after subsequently discovering another “several associated entities that we simply do not agree with.”
Despite Evergreen Terrace’s claim that Shell Shock II had offered to drop Rittenhouse’s appearance from the billing, “The Antihero Podcast”—which hosts the event—made a statement apparently doubling down.
“We are prepping. The liberal mob attempted to destroy Shell Shock,” a post on the podcast’s Instagram account read. “We will not allow it. This is now about more than a concert. This is a war of ideology.”
