Cherym pull out of The Great Escape Festival due to its links with Barclays bank

nme.com:

Cherym have announced that they have pulled out of playing The Great Escape this year, due to the festival’s connection with Barclays bank.The Derry punk band shared a statement on social media outlining their reasoning, highlighting the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel.“We have made the decision to pull out of The Great Escape Festival next month,” the statement reads.“Barclays/Barclaycard are responsible for investing over £1bn+ into companies that are arming the IDF and providing weaponry that enables the ongoing atrocities against Palestinians to continue.”a message from us regarding our performances due to take place at @thegreatescape festival next month.

pic.twitter.com/Y20uW75f7H— CHERYM (@cherymofficial) April 12, 2024“Due to The Great Escape’s connection with Barclays/Barclaycard, we feel in good conscience, that we cannot go ahead with our scheduled performances at The Great Escape.

We have been told by The Great Escape that the festival has no affiliation with Barclays/Barclaycard directly this year, but due to the refusal to remove them as a sponsor from their advertising we simply cannot take part.”NME has contacted The Great Escape for a response to the band’s decision.The band go on to share a petition that was started by the promoter How to Catch a Pig and the band The Menstrual Cramps, and has since been signed by artists including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Alfie Templeman, Lip Critic, Wunderhorse and Mary in the Junkyard.

The petition can be found here.It reads: “A bank that is involved in Israel’s genocide has no place at The Great Escape, which is a fixture of the independent music scene and has a prized place in the industry.