SXSW may alert immigration authorities if international artists play unofficial shows

Is South by Southwest, the annual music and film festival running later this month in Austin, threatening its international performers with deportation? Depends on who you ask.

Thursday, Felix Walworth of the New York band Told Slant shared a page of the SXSW performer contract and his interpretation that international artists who perform unofficial, unaffiliated concerts during the week of the festival could be turned into the U.S. government.

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The contract states that SXSW will "notify the appropriate U.S. immigration authorities" of artists who "adversely affect the viability of their official SXSW showcase."

Official showcases, hotels and credentials for said artists will also be canceled.

Walworth posted a screenshot on his Twitter account followed by a lengthy rant.



Keep going to see some of the international artists slated to play at SXSW. South By Southwest has a stipulation in its contract that could potentially result in international artists being deported.

Keep going to see some of the international artists slated to play at SXSW. South By Southwest has a stipulation in its contract that could potentially result in international artists being deported. Photo: Twitter.com/Felixixix666 Photo: Twitter.com/Felixixix666 Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close SXSW may alert immigration authorities if international artists play unofficial shows 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

"I'm not interested in aligning myself with an institution that interacts with immigration authorities as a means of controlling where art is shared and performed, and who makes money off of it," Walworth wrote. "This festival uses an imperialist model and prioritizes centralizing and packaging culture over communities and people's safety. It's no secret that SXSW has played a huge role in the process (of) Austin's rapid gentrification. The whole festival exists to the detriment of working class people and people of color in Austin."

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Walworth urges other artists to cancel their official showcases and find an alternative.

The clause isn't new, according to Stereogum, but it's much more of a threat in the wake of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.

Through an emailed statement, Roland Swenson, SXSW CEO and co-founder, said Walworth's interpretation was a "misunderstanding."

"We understand that given the current political climate surrounding immigration, the language that was published seems strong. Violating U.S. immigration law has always carried potentially severe consequences, and we would be remiss not to warn our participating acts of the likely repercussions," Swenson said. "Language governing SXSW's ability to protect a showcase has been in the artist Performance Agreement for many years. It is, and always was intended to be, a safeguard to provide SXSW with a means to respond to an act that does something truly egregious, such as disobeying our rules about pyrotechnics on stage, starting a brawl in a club, or causing serious safety issues.

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"We hope never to be put in the position to act on this. Indeed, we spend a great deal of time communicating with international artists concerning numerous issues, including how to avoid issues at U.S. ports of entry. Moreover, there is language in the Performance Agreement which is included to inform foreign artists that the U.S. immigration authorities have mechanisms to create trouble for artists who ignore U.S. immigration laws. For example, those acts coming to SXSW to perform without a work visa are limited, by U.S. immigration law, to performing their showcase event only. If an artist wishes to perform elsewhere, they will require a work visa."

In a response to SXSW's statement, Walworth posted on his Twitter account, "The managing director of SXSW accused me of pasting together two parts of the contract to make it sound worse than it is," along with a video of Walworth scrolling through the contract on his phone.

the managing director of sxsw accused me of pasting together two parts of the contract to make it sound worse than it is. Here's a video: pic.twitter.com/wDaCBiCDBx — Told Slant (@Felixixix666) March 2, 2017

Ironic or not, SXSW has scheduled ContraBanned: #MusicUnites for March 17 in Austin. The event will showcase artists from the seven predominantly Muslim countries included in a stalled executive order on immigration.

See some of the international acts slated to play at SXSW in the gallery above.