Sticky Fingers ‘step off’ Bluesfest lineup after weeks of backlash

Controversial Sydney band Sticky Fingers have been removed from this year’s Bluesfest lineup, following weeks of backlash, including the withdrawal of other artists scheduled to play the Easter festival.

In a statement, the festival’s organisers said that “Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition”.

The statement also detailed the ongoing conversation surrounding the bands’ inclusion on the lineup, calling the decision to pull Sticky Fingers difficult to accept.

“The narrative that they continue to deserve to be cancelled, as well as anyone who publicly supports them, is difficult to accept, wherein a portion of society and media passes eternal judgment toward those, in this case, a diagnosed mentally ill person whom we feel doesn’t deserve the continued public scrutiny he’s being given.”

Sticky Fingers were a surprise addition to this year’s Bluesfest, and it triggered a public response from other artists, with Melbourne group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and singer Sampa The Great withdrawing from the Byron Bay festival.

Despite the high-profile backlash, Bluesfest director Peter Noble doubled down on his decision, stating Sticky Fingers vocalist Dylan Frost “deserves an opportunity” after a number of incidents that led to the band’s hiatus in 2017.

In confirming the exit of Sticky Fingers, festival organisers said: “Sticky Fingers has done so many good deeds that have never been reported, including building and funding recording studios and music education programs in disadvantaged regional communities.

“We will now move on, put this behind us and continue to plan and present our best-ever edition of Bluesfest.”

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