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Scowl Drops Out of Welcome to Rockville Over U.S. Army Sponsorship Following SXSW Boycott

'We will not be performing at this year's Welcome To Rockville Festival in Daytona Beach, FL due to the US Army’s Sponsorship of the event,' Scowl said in a social media post.

Scowl
Source: YouTube

Scowl has dropped out of the Welcome to Rockville festival coming to Daytona Beach next month over the event's ties to the U.S. Army.

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Scowl has dropped out of the Welcome to Rockville festival scheduled for next month due to the U.S. Army's sponsorship of the event.

This came after the band and dozens of other artists boycotted SXSW last month over the event's ties to the military and related defense contractors.

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"We will not be performing at this year's Welcome To Rockville Festival in Daytona Beach, FL due to the US Army’s Sponsorship of the event," Scowl said in a brief tweet on Tuesday, April 7.

The move is in line with the group's previous statement about SXSW: "We came to this decision in protest of the U.S. Army's sponsorship of SXSW," they said. "We refuse to participate in the war machine… We refuse to be complicit in the face of genocide in Palestine."

Q was the first publication to reveal that the U.S. Army was also sponsoring Welcome to Rockville.

Since then, Scowl has arguably become the face of modern hardcore. Last month, they received a glowing "Future 25" writeup from Rolling Stone which included no mention of SXSW or the Welcome to Rockville controversy.

Gel, another hardcore band that boycotted SXSW, is also scheduled to play Welcome to Rockville. It's not clear if they will drop out, as well. The band didn't immediately respond to Q's request for comment.

Welcome to Rockville, which is scheduled to begin in Daytona Beach on May 9, declined Q's request for comment.

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There were a few supportive notes below Scowl's post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Common scowl W," one said. "Wanna play in town that night?" said another.

But the comment section was dominated by angry messages.

"Excellent. I appreciate you doing this. Now a much better band can play," one person said. "Thanks. Now a band that doesn't hate those who fight and die for our freedoms will have a chance to get exposure to the largest rock fest in America."

Scowl's statement about Welcome to Rockville was much less detailed than their statement about SXSW.

"I don't agree with the military sponsoring Rock Festivals either. That money should be going somewhere more useful (veteran mental health...etc)," another commenter said. "But can someone from the Scowl camp explain the bands specific reason(s) behind the boycott?"

Scowl
Source: YouTube

This came after the band boycotted SXSW last month over the event's similar ties to the military and related defense contractors.

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In an illustration of the complicated ties between music, commerce and politics, Scowl's music was recently used in a Taco Bell commercial, and Scowl performed at the chain's "unofficial halftime show" during the Women's World Cup last year.

Taco Bell and its parent company Yum! Brands have ties to the U.S. military. There's a Taco Bell in the Pentagon and others located on U.S. military bases around the globe. Yum! Brands has also been the target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

SXSW
Source: MEGA

Scowl will be touring with A Day to Remember this summer.

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Scowl is also scheduled to tour with A Day to Remember this summer. Check out a list of those upcoming dates below:

07/09 Albuquerque, NM – Rio Rancho Events Center

07/10 Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena

07/12 Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena

07/14 Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater

07/15 Portland, OR – Alaska Airlines’ Theater of the Clouds

07/18 Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum

07/19 San Diego, CA – Gallagher Square at Petco Park

07/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre

07/22 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

07/24 Omaha, NE – The Astro Amphitheater

07/25 Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

07/26 Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom

07/28 Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium

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