Several artists are opting out of festivals linked to a pro-Israel investment fund.

BarcelonaArtists such as Nexus (B4mba & Mooki6), Rami Abadir, Juliana Huxtable, Kebra and Animistic Beliefs, among others, have canceled performances at the Sónar festival. Élite has withdrawn from participating in the Benicàssim International Festival. Fermin Muguruza, Reincidentes, Non Servium, Kaotiko, Los de Marras, Kaos Urbano, Sínkope, No Konforme, Sons Of Aguirre, Ill Pequeño and Ergo Pro have announced that they will not perform at Viña Rock. These festivals are majority-owned by Superstruct Entertainment, a company that was acquired last year by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), an American investment fund with ties to Israeli cybersecurity companies.

All of these cancellations have occurred after The Leap published a report on KKR, the investment fund created by Americans Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis and George Roberts in 1976. The investigation also details the ties that KKR maintained until last year with real estate developments in Palestine owned by the German Axel Springer.

Sónar has issued a statement explaining that the festival is "a platform that promotes diversity, inclusion, and respects the freedom of expression of its artists, participants, and collaborators." "The Sónar team has always worked and will continue to work with the premise of promoting respect for universal human rights. The festival firmly condemns all forms of violence," the statement continues. However, some artists consider Sónar's position insufficient because it does not explicitly condemn Israel's violence in Gaza or in Palestine in general.

KKR acquired Superstruct Entertainment in the summer of 2024 for €1.4 billion. This gives it control of one of the most important companies in the music festival business in Europe. Superstruct is the majority shareholder in festivals such as Hungary's Sziget, Germany's Wacken, and the British Field Day. In Spain, it has some of the largest festivals, including Sónar, Viña Rock, FIB, Resurrection Fest, Monegros Desert Festival, Arenal Sound, and O Son do Camiño.

Cancellations have also occurred at the British Field Day, with around fifteen artists withdrawing. Separately, more than 200 artists, including Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack) and Brian Eno, have joined a campaign calling for Field Day to disassociate itself from KKR.

The Minister of Culture's rejection

Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has rejected the entry of the pro-Israeli fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) into music festivals such as Sónar, Viña Rock, FIB, and Arenal Sound. "I am concerned, and KKR is not welcome in our country's cultural activities," Ur stated this Saturday. "It is not welcome because we do not want a fund in our culture that actively participates in the illegal occupation of Palestine and with real estate activities in the territories occupied by Israel," the Culture Minister continued, reiterating that companies like KKR should not be allowed to participate in the European single market "in a normalized manner."