Nick Cave has offered advice to an artist who is struggling with performing at a divisive music festival.
An anonymous musician reached out to Cave through his website, The Red Hand Files, where users can submit questions to be answered by the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds frontman.
They described that they are struggling with being booked at The Great Escape festival, which is being boycotted by numerous artists due to the sponsorship of Barclays. He alleges that, "in a non-linear fashion," Barclays is "profiting from the horror that is occurring in Palestine."
"I do not support the genocide, I would hope the rest of the world feels the same. But as an artist already existing in a very toxic industry, the best many of us can hope for is a few scraps - the glimmer of an opportunity, a gig, anything to help us get our music out into the world, and in turn make it a better place with the love we promote in our art," he wrote.
Several other artists have had to face a similar decision. In March, singer Olly Alexander faced criticism when he was announced to be playing in the European singing competition Eurovision, due to the event's inclusion of Israel. Alexander said that while he does "wholeheartedly support action being taken," he believes that withdrawing from the competition "wouldn't bring us any closer to our shared goal."
The anonymous sender continued to write to Cave that he struggles with "individuality" in the music industry, especially when artists are constantly being told to conform to TikTok trends and expectations from the general public. While they do not want to seem "complicit," they pause at succumbing to the public outcry.
"The music industry is a place of being told you need to follow TikTok trends and that labels only look at 'metrics'. Individuality doesn't feel celebrated. I feel as if I am to be judged by my peers and by fans if we don't cancel our performance, yet my heart tells me that this is ill-advised. I don't want to be bullied into following a trend, yet I worry my silence makes me look complicit."
With several music festivals being sponsored by Barclays, he reveals that "it's a huge expectation on struggling musicians who will be replaced by one of a thousand other hungry musicians if they decide to boycott." The entry ends with the musician asking Cave what he would do.
"The Mercy Seat" performer had a simple response to the artist in need: "Play."
Cave has been an outspoken supporter of Israel in the past. Following the Russian invasion in the Ukraine, he made the decision to pull out of concerts in both countries, stating that he stands with Ukraine. However, many people pointed out that he had refused to do the same thing when he elected to play concerts in Israel several years earlier.
When explaining his choice to perform in Israel, NME reports that Cave responded: "At the end of the day, there's maybe two reasons why I'm here. One is that I love Israel and I love Israeli people, and two is to make a principled stand against anyone who tries to censor and silence musicians."
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