Organisers of the Shindig Festival have said they are “facing censorship” but “standing our ground” after local Tories forced a review of the event’s licence because Bob Vylan has been booked as headliner. Meanwhile the punk duo themselves have said the licence review is “unwarranted and shameful”.
After it emerged that Wiltshire Council will be reviewing the event’s licence just days before this year’s edition is due to take place next weekend, because of concerns about Bob Vylan’s performance, the Shindig team were initially pretty diplomatic.
They said in a statement that they would “work closely” with the local authority to address those concerns. But in a new interview with The Bristol Cable, team members are a little more forthright.
One of the festival’s directors, Flufee, says “we knew we’d face a bit of controversy or flak" for booking Bob Vylan, and admits the team briefly debated whether to remove the act once the backlash actually started to build. However, they agreed they should resist the attempts to change their line-up.
“If we back down and say people can tell us who we can book and what people can say at our events, that’s a massive erosion of rights and sets a really bad precedent”, Flufee says. Fellow director Simon Clarke adds, “we are facing censorship and standing our ground”.
Bob Vylan have been in the spotlight since their controversial televised set at last year’s Glastonbury, of course, where frontman Pascal Robinson was outspoken in his support of Palestine and criticism of Israel, at on point leading the crowd in chants of “death, death to the IDF”, referencing the Israel Defense Forces.
Since then, various individuals and organisations have sought to force other venues and festivals to cancel the duo’s shows. When it comes to festivals, anyone can request a review of an event’s licence under the UK 2003 Licensing Act.
It was the South Cotswold Conservative Association that requested a review of Shindig’s licence, insisting that Bob Vylan’s performance posed concerns around “crime and disorder” as well as “public safety”. Local Conservative Councillor Elizabeth Threlfall has also backed the call for a licence review.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, “While I support the principle of free speech the reputation of the band means there is a legitimate concern that such performances may draw in protest activity and heighten tensions among the audiences, particularly within a large, mixed and alcohol-consuming crowd typical of this festival environment”.
But Bob Vylan and the Shindig team are pushing ahead and, following a recent pre-hearing meeting, say they are increasingly confident next week’s licensing review won’t stop the festival from proceeding.
Flufee adds, “I’m Jewish. Allowing artists to shine a light on genocide wherever it may be is courageous, and I support Bob Vylan and others speaking out”.
And Bob Vylan’s full statement on the matter reads, “The threat to the festival’s licence is unwarranted and shameful. But we are proud to take part in a festival with morals and ethics that places art, and freedom to express that art, at its forefront”.