I obviously am not going to link to the social media post, and obviously I’m snapshotting whatever I can without logging in, but it’s time for FYSM to stop beating around the bush of politics affecting music. Matthew Good is one of many musicians opting to skip the US for a multitude of reasons, from strict politics like to the left to revoked visas to fear of being deported to Syria (which the US Supreme Court ruled was legal!).
And I think that’s fucking great. If people don’t feel safe traveling here, don’t travel here. If people don’t feel the US market is worth the risks, ignore it. It’s a trend that I hope picks up steam – noise makes change, and maybe if big enough acts create big enough noise, Americans will finally wake up and demand change.
But until that happens, I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground about acts opting to leave the US out of their touring. And then support those bands because I support that action.