Artists: Boycott genocide-funding music festivals

KKR (Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts) is the world’s second largest private equity firm, with a portfolio of over $710 billion that includes fossil fuels, military/surveillance firms, and real-estate companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. KKR is a majority stakeholder in Canada’s Coastal GasLink Pipeline, which occupies un-ceded native land belonging to the Wet’suwet’en First Nations. Its chairman is former CIA director David Patreus, and its co-CEOs are Joseph Bae, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, and Scott C. Nuttal, former Co-Chair of real-estate juggernaut Blackstone. KKR and its executives have also contributed millions of dollars in matching funds to Friends of the IDF, a nonprofit which accepts donations from billionaire executives of companies like Northrop Grumman and Bank of America to directly fund subsidies for Israeli occupation troops.

Some of KKR’s investments include:

Guesty – An Israeli “proptech” company making surveillance software for landlords to manage real-estate on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Global Technical Realty (GTR) – Owners of a $1 billion datacenter in 2021 on occupied Palestinian land

IQGeo – Geospatial data management software used for Israeli telecom expansion in the West Bank

The Novaria Group – Large military aerospace hardware manufacturer supporting US & Israeli military

Hensoldt – German semiconductor company used for defense applications by the Israeli military

Artlist – Israeli stock media company pushing AI adoption with AI-generated images and videos

Axel Springer – German media giant that has aided illegal Israeli settlements and land theft in the West Bank through its classified ads platform, Yad2.

In 2024, KKR paid €1.3 million to acquire Superstruct Entertainment, a live events company that owns more than 80 music festivals and events around the world including Boiler Room, Sónar Festival, Lost Village, Mighty Hoopla, and Field Day. In response, a movement of grassroots activists operating within nightlife and electronic music spaces have called for a boycott of all KKR-owned events. The activists have organized public protests, and created solidarity strike funds to support artists who drop from lineups at these events. 

Hundreds of artists and DJs have already publicly withdrawn their participation from these festivals in solidarity with the Palestinian and Wet’suwet’en peoples. These cancelations—which include many high-profile DJs and performers—have had material impacts on KKR and Superstruct’s business while exposing their ties to genocide and environmental destruction. 

Since January 2025:

– Boiler Room has canceled events in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, San Juan, and Toronto after artists dropped from their lineups in protest of KKR’s ownership.

– Dozens of artists withdrew from this year’s Sónar Festival in Barcelona after the festival’s organizers failed to adequately address their complicity as a KKR subsidiary.

– Women and POC-led DJ collectives like Sisu and Daytimers pulled their stages from multiple KKR-owned festivals including Field Day, Mighty Hoopla and Lost Village, leading dozens more artists to withdraw their participation in the events.

– Activists have organized counter-parties in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world to protest KKR-owned events and raise money for artists who turn down offers to perform.

– Over 800 Australian artists have signed an open letter stating they would refuse to play any Boiler Room events as long as the company is owned by KKR. 

Art-washing or culture-washing is a propaganda tactic where private companies try to obscure their involvement in social and environmental harms by pouring money into cultural spaces. Similar to “pink-washing”—where corporations don rainbow avatars to appeal to LGBTQ communities—art-washing helps companies project a hip, progressive image while continuing to destroy the rights and lives of people they claim to support. KKR’s acquisition of companies like Boiler Room, which became a major player in electronic dance music in the 2010s, is a clear example of art-washing. Using the aesthetics of the DIY and underground music culture that Boiler Room claims to represent, KKR is able to transform countercultural spaces into a sterilized corporate front for its destructive and nefarious investments. 

Some KKR-owned music festivals have made statements attempting to distance themselves from their new owners. Field Day and Boiler Room both stated that they had no say in the acquisition, with the latter claiming that it is still “unapologetically pro-Palestine.” However, this does not change the material reality of their funding and complicity. Palestinian-led organizations including the Sameer Project and FC Palestina have dropped collaborations with Boiler Room after learning of their ties to KKR, and encouraged others to do the same. As always, we choose to follow the lead of organizations led by people most directly impacted by KKR and institutions like it. Art-washing or culture-washing is a propaganda tactic where private companies try to obscure their involvement in social and environmental harms by pouring money into cultural spaces. Similar to “pink-washing”—where corporations don rainbow avatars to appeal to LGBTQ communities—art-washing helps companies project a hip, progressive image while continuing to destroy the rights and lives of people they claim to support. KKR’s acquisition of companies like Boiler Room, which became a major player in electronic dance music in the 2010s, is a clear example of art-washing. Using the aesthetics of the DIY and underground music culture that Boiler Room claims to represent, KKR is able to transform countercultural spaces into a sterilized corporate front for its destructive and nefarious investments. 

No. Thanks to the efforts of grassroots activists organizing operating within nightlife and electronic music spaces, solidarity strike funds have been created to support artists who drop from lineups at these events. These activists have also organized public protests of KKR events, as well as alternative events that reject genocide and corporate complicity. Through solidarity and community, artists and fans are supporting each other in doing the right thing, and coming together to build a thriving, independent music scene. 

This letter is for artists, musicians, record labels, talent agencies, party promoters, and others within the wider music industry who want to use their power to make positive change. We call on all culture workers to rise to this moment by wielding their influence, and helping build a diverse scene that rejects complicity and corporate blood money.

Contact artists you love and ask them to sign the pledge. Support artists who have signed by going to their shows and buying their music and merch. Find a local strike fund and monetarily support artists who turn down KKR gigs in your city. Show up with all your friends to alternative events organized in your community, and spread the word about KKR and its investments in the arts and entertainment industry.