Danube Island Festival scandal

Punk band let activist on stage and got kicked out

Bandleader Sebastian Hafner aka Sibbi commented on the action via Instagram.

(Bild: Screenshot instagram.com/itchyofficial1)

The 41st Danube Island Festival was actually an all-round peaceful affair, but now the actions of a German punk rock band are still causing discussion afterwards. Because the band Itchy allowed a climate activist on stage, she was thrown out of the backstage area. There is a lack of understanding among the musicians, the organizers speak of a "breach of trust".

Itchy had played on the 88.6 stage on Saturday evening and briefly let a climate activist from the Last Generation take the microphone during their set. According to frontman Sibbi, the decision was made due to the recent storms, which also hit Germany hard. 

"We were basically kicked out"
"We then asked Bianca from the Last Generation to come on stage, it was a totally peaceful action and there was also applause from the audience," says the lead singer. Nevertheless, the organizer turned off the microphone after just under a minute. The band was then expelled from the festival grounds: "We had to hand in our backstage passes and were basically kicked out."

The action quickly made the rounds on social media, and the AfD, whose spokesperson for cultural policy Rainer Balzer felt he had to speak out, also made a statement. He spoke of "assault" in the cultural scene and congratulated the organizers. 

Organizers commented on the incident
However, the Danube Island Festival organizers did not want to leave the appropriation by right-wing extremism without comment. A statement from Vienna said: "The Danube Island Festival is a festival for everyone, a place of diversity and peace, of cohesion and respectful coexistence. The Danube Island Festival and its organizers therefore clearly distance themselves from any right-wing ideology. We reject any instrumentalization by right-wing extremist organizations in the strongest possible terms."

However, Itchy had committed a "breach of trust" with the action: "It had been agreed with all artists in advance not to allow any Last Generation activists on stage for security reasons." However, the band countered this via Instagram, stating that they had made "no written or verbal stipulations or agreements" in this regard.

Frontman Sibbi comments: "If you don't want a band to perform political content on your stage, then maybe you shouldn't book a political punk rock band on your stage either."