Metal festival’s Kyle Rittenhouse booking sparks exodus from bands

Several metal bands have pulled out of a festival in Florida after it was announced Kyle Rittenhouse would appear as a special guest.

Shell Shock II is set to take place in Orlando on October 19. Organisers say that a portion of proceeds from the event will go to support first responders struggling with injuries including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Rittenhouse, 21, made national headlines after fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter protesters and injuring a third in Kinosha, Wisconsin in 2020. He claimed self-defense and was acquitted of all charges.

Jacksonville metalcore band Evergreen Terrace were among the first bands to pull out. In a statement on Facebook, they said that they have “always supported and continues to support philanthropic events for veterans, PTSD awareness, child poverty and many more” but that they will not “align with an event” promoting Rittenhouse “capitalizing off their pseudo celebrity.”

Other bands including Southpaw, Let Me Bleed and American Hollow followed suit in dropping out of the event.

In a statement on Instagram, Southpaw wrote: “We knew going into this, that the festival was veteran based, which we support.

“But knew nothing of a particular individual being a main focus of support for the show until after accepting it.

“Due to events that have taken place and drama around this particular individual, we made the decision to respectfully step down.

“This simply is not what we signed up for, period.”

Let Me Bleed wrote in their own statement: “After realizing that there were going to be a number of high profile individuals in attendance as invited VIP guests whom LMB does not align with or wish to be associated with in any sense we decided it be best to remove ourselves from the lineup of the show.

“Though we are advocates of free speech we are collectively not a political band.

“We make music we hope anyone can enjoy and relate to.

“It wasn’t until after we agreed to play the festival that these problematic and potentially alienating entities were being used to market the show and that is something we simply cannot condone.”

The festival has since announced Texas-based Slipknot tribute band SiC as their new headliner.

Shell Shock II is being organized by the Florida-based The Antihero Podcast. In a statement shared on the podcast’s Instagram account they said: “We have been silent. 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.”