CMAT joins boycott of Latitude 2024 due to Barclaycard sponsorship: “I will not allow my music to get into bed with violence”

Enter Shikari have spoken out after Barclays Bank withdrew from sponsoring Download, Latitude and Isle Of Wight festivals following an artist boycott.A number of bands had dropped out of the Donington Park festival in protest at their commercial partnership with Barclays, including Pest Control, Scowl, Speed and Zulu.Pest Control wrote that they “would not take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide”, while Scowl added they were boycotting due to “Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.”And now, it appears that Barclays have withdrawn their sponsorship of Download, Latitude and Isle of Wight Festivals, with the bank no longer being listed on their official websites.In a response shared with NME, Latitude confirmed the news, saying: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of Latitude Festival.”NME have also contacted Download Festival for comment.Enter Shikari, who are set to play the main stage at Download this weekend, have responded to the news with a lengthy social media post, which read: “There has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.”A post shared by enter: shikari (@entershikari)“We have been in talks with Download themselves, expressing our serious objection at Barclays involvement. We have considered all options, and along with other artists have been working tirelessly on this.”“We don’t believe in rushed reactions and always want the best outcome for all involved.

Trooping the Colour returns to London on Saturday, 15 June, with the Royal Family set to take to the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Flypast. The spectacle will feature 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians parading down The Mall and at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, before the appearance by the royals.This iconic celebration showcases British military pomp and pageantry on a grand scale.

Lankum have said they have signed a letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amid the current boycott of the bank over its ties to companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.Numerous acts have already pulled out of the Henham Park festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth. Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow have also dropped out.Now, Lankum have lent their voices to the conversation by revealing that they have signed a letter to Latitude over the issue, suggesting that the festival itself will be subject to acts taking a collective stand.“In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” they wrote in a statement.“We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action.“Hopefully we will have more news on this soon.”“Love and solidarity, Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie.”In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine.We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts… pic.twitter.com/DIGdmhDxIp— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) June 12, 2024The announcement of artists pulling out of Latitude comes shortly after the major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, also due to its ties with Barclays.

Download 2024 yesterday (June 10) over its partnership with Barclays Bank – which has ties to Israel – have announced a show together in Birmingham to raise money for Palestine.Pest Control were the first band to pull out of the Donington Park festival, saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.” Later on, Scowl, Speed and Zulu all followed suit, with Scowl revealing that Pest Control had alerted them to the issue.This Friday! A benefit for Palestine

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Selome Hailu Julianna Margulies will not be returning to Apple TV+‘s “The Morning Show” for Season 4. Sources tell Variety that the decision was made before the controversy stirred by a podcast that featured Margulies last year, and that she was offered a one-episode appearance in Season 4 that she turned down.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).The campaign has called for the boycott amidst the ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which recently saw Israel carry out an airstrike operation in Rafah. The airstrike was estimated to have killed at least 37 people between May 27-28, according to The Associated Press.They also reported the attack caused several tents to catch fire, killing more residents in Rafah, which is home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip.Now, music organisations, labels and promoters such as Dark Entries, Techno Queers, Dweller, Noise Not Music, Night Slugs, 8-ball community, Gold Bolus Recordings, NYC Noise, FIST and many more have committed themselves to the boycott.PACBI is an offshoot of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape and Latitude Festival this year.

Sitting in his Rochdale town centre office, George Galloway has spent much of the morning dealing with 'real complications' that have been developing with his party's campaign in Blackburn. Four weeks out from the general election, he is busy preparing a list of candidates to stand in seats across the country.

Kneecap have discussed their reasons for not participating in the boycott of The Great Escape last month.Over 100 artists pulled out of the Brighton festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, which has been accused of financial ties to companies arming Israel. However, the bank claims it is “trading in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand”.The Irish rap trio’s decision was caused some controversy online given that they have always taken a stand against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza.They helped to raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine and spoken publicly about it via social media and a message shared after a high-profile appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. They have also made headlines for ignoring Irish public broadcaster RTÉ’s requests to not wear pro-Palestine badges.Kneecap did participate in the boycott of SXSW (after the UK government withdrew arts funding to get them to get there; resulting in a legal battle) after discovering the US military was supporting the festival.

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Latitude festival over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.Zyu shared a statement on her official Instagram account explaining her decision to boycott the Suffolk Music Festival. “The festival is sponsored by Barclays who are continuing to profit from the genocide in Palestine,” began her statement.She continued: “Barclays are on the BDS Movement’s boycott list.

D:Ream have banned Keir Starmer from using their 1993 New Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ in his election campaign.The song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after it was played through a loudspeaker by protester Steve Bray, with the aim of drowning out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he called a surprise General Election for July 4. Within 24 hours, the song had gone viral on social media and entered the iTunes Top 10.The Northern Irish band have previously said that they never enjoyed ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ having a political association.“My first reaction was ‘not again, please let me move on’,” singer Peter Cunnah told NME.

CMAT has responded after the BBC disabled comments on the video for her performance at Big Weekend due to extensive body-shaming.The Irish singer-songwriter took to the stage at the 2024 edition of BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, which was held at Stockwood Park, Luton at the end of last week.However, footage of her set began to gather unwanted attention online, with many flocking to the post to criticise the musician about her appearance. After being up for less than a week, the BBC then decided to disable comments on the video.Now, following the decision, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson herself has responded to the backlash, and shared what it was like to face online abuse.“Yesterday the BBC had to turn comments off a video of me performing at big weekend because so many people were calling me fat in the comments,” she shared on X/Twitter last night (May 29).“Today a different video of me at the BRIT awards is going viral on south american tiktok and now people are calling me fat in spanish.”In a follow-up post, she added: “I didnt realise it was ILLEGAL to have a HUGE ASS !!!! i am GUILTY as CHARGED it is time to lock me up and throw away THE KEY!!!!! By the way i am an award winning songwriter that has released two albums which were received to ‘universal acclaim’.”yesterday the BBC had to turn comments off a video of me performing at big weekend because so many people were calling me fat in the comments.

Paramore have made a call for donations to support aid to Gaza today (May 29) via their Instagram Stories.It comes as Israel has intensified its military operations in Rafah over the last few days. A report from The Associated Press explained that Israel’s recent shelling and airstrike attacks killed at least 37 people between Monday and Tuesday this week (May 27-28).

D:Ream have spoken to NME about their shocked reaction to their 1993 hit ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ returning to the charts after being played over Rishi Sunak announcing a general election in a downpour – and how it has led to them being asked to play Glastonbury 2024.Last Wednesday (May 22), as a drenched Sunak took to a podium outside 10 Downing Street to reveal the snap July 4 election date, in the background protester Steve Bray played the Northern Irish band’s Number One song which had long been associated with Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997.The clip has since gone viral on social media platforms and entered the iTunes chart Top 10 within 24 hours.According to D:Ream singer Peter Cunnah, though, the political connotations of the song had become an albatross for the band over the New Labour years and beyond.“My first reaction was ‘not again, please let me move on’,” he told NME. “We all wanted that change in ’97, that sense of positivity.

CMAT has spoken to NME about the impressive cultural footprint of her native Ireland, as well as plans for her next album – which could arrive sooner than you think.Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson was speaking to us on the red carpet of the Ivor Novellos in London this week (Thursday May 23), where she was nominated for Best Album for the acclaimed ‘Crazymad, For Me‘ – but was already convinced that she wouldn’t win due to the competition she faced. The award was later picked up by Yussef Dayes.“Lankum are nominated for the award, who’ve already beat me for Irish album of the year – also RAYE, who won 75million awards at the BRITs and I just sat through that, twiddling my thumbs, not winning anything,” Thompson told NME.

Trooping the Colour is fast approaching and, despite the announcement of the upcoming General Election, it is still expected to be given permission to take place. The annual celebration - which celebrates the official birthday of the sovereign - is set for Saturday, 15 June and will see the regiments of the Foot Guards parade from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall and back.

Pillow Queens have become the first band to boycott this year’s edition of Latitude festival over its sponsorship with Barclays and their ties to Israel.The Irish indie rock band – comprised of Pamela Connolly, Sarah Corcoran, Rachel Lyons and Cathy McGuinness – took to their social media to share a statement explaining why they have pulled out of the Suffolk music festival.“Last week it came to our attention that Latitude – a festival we were booked to play in the UK in July – lists its headline partner as Barclays. A May 2024 report by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) details Barclays financial ties to companies producing weapons and military technology used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians,” began their statement.“It reveals that Barclays has increased its financial ties with companies arming Israel,” it continued.

Weird sisters have been spinning their witchy webs in stories dating back to Greek mythology, which included a macabre trio of sisters who passed a single eye between them. There is something of that sense of a closed circle of unknowable femininity between the two teenage girls in September Says, the first film to be directed by Greek Weird Wave actor Ariane Labed, based on the 2020 novel Sisters by Daisy Johnson and set between England and Ireland.