Florida Festival Says ‘Liberal Mob’ Caused Bands to Drop Off Lineup
Florida’s controversial Shell Shock II metal festival has responded after bands have dropped-off the lineup, pointing the blame at the “liberal mob.”
The festival, set to take place in Orlando on October 19, is hosted by The Antihero Podcast and is meant to raise awareness for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to support military Veterans and first responders.
Shell Shock II has received backlash over the past week after it announced that Kyle Rittenhouse would appear at the festival. Rittenhouse garnered attention in 2020 at 17-years-old after fatally shooting two protestors and injuring a third person in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Following the news of Rittenhouse’s appearance, the band Evergreen Terrace pulled itself from the lineup, noting in a Facebook post that “we will not align with an event promoting a perceived murderer such as Kyle Rittenhouse capitalizing off of their pseudo celebrity.”
Others have removed themselves from the lineup as well, including Southpaw, Let Me Bleed, and American Hollow. Southpaw said that they “knew nothing of a particular individual being a main focus of support for the show until after accepting it” and “this simply is not what we signed up for, period.” Let Me Bleed said that “this is something we cannot condone,” and American Hollow said they are not a political band and needed to “excuse ourselves.”
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The Antihero podcast, as well as Shell Shock’s CEO and founder, have spoken out about the controversy, blaming the “liberal mob” for the bands’ decision to fall off the lineup.
“We have been silent,” the podcast wrote in a social media post. “But we are prepping. The liberal mob attempted to destroy Shell Shock. But we will not allow it. This is now about more than a concert. This is a war of ideology.”
Shell Shock CEO Tyler Hoover responded in an Instagram reel, saying, “you’re not punk, you’re not hardcore.”
“You people — the people that are trolling and the people that are talking shit — you guys are the mentally ill portion of society,” Hoover said. “You guys are the ones that are manipulated.”
He went on to say that the “lynch mob” can’t “kill Shell Shock.”
Following the dismissal of several bands, Shell Shock announced that the Slipknot tribute band SiC will headline the event.
