Moses Sumney
LA singer-songwriter, Moses Sumney, has pulled out of a forthcoming performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada in protest at another show on the bill which features white performers singing African-American slave songs.
Directed by Robert Lepage and featuring singer Betti Bonifassi (both white), SLAV, described by the festival as “a theatrical odyssey based on slave songs”, has been subject to protests, with one black protester claiming to have been slapped in the face by a white theatre-goer.
Now, in a statement on Twitter, Moses said, “When I learned that the festival continued to defend this show publicly… I knew that I could not present my music at this same festival in good conscience.
The festival has not commented on his statement, simply stating that ticketholders will be refunded.
Last month, Scottish hip-hop trio Young Fathers pulled out of a festival in Germany after the organisers challenged their support of a Palestinian-led organisation which calls for a cultural boycott of Israel.
–BBC