Downtown Boys Call Out Coachella Owner Over Anti-LGBTQ Donations

Downtown Boys, who performed at Coachella these past two weekends, have penned an open letter criticizing the festival on various fronts, primarily its links to anti-LGBTQ causes. Published in Spark, the letter takes issue with AEG founder Philip Anschutz, described as “a 77-year-old billionaire” whose charity foundation has donated extensively to anti-LGBTQ causes. The band say they encountered a worker collecting trash in the artist area, who claimed “she used to get paid $14/hr … but her wages were since cut to $10/hr”; the band says this is “an unacceptable wage for a festival that grossed over $85 million in 2015.” They went on to say that, while they played the festival because “there was no call for an organized boycott,” they advocate for “work to redistribute the cultural and economic resources so that Coachella no longer holds so much power.” 

After citing recent protest against SXSW as an example of successful political organization in music, the letter concludes: “In addition to this public statement, we will be donating a portion of the money paid to us by Coachella to organizations that fight for LGBTQ rights and freedoms, which means the freedom and justice for all people. We encourage other artists to do the same.” Read the full letter here.

Read “Coachella’s Controversial Owner: What You Need to Know” on the Pitch. Downtown Boys recently shared “Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas),” their first release for Sub Pop.

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