ORLANDO, Fla. (WGN-TV) — An upcoming heavy metal festival set to take place in Florida this month is undergoing some major lineup changes after several bands that were set to perform at the event dropped out after learning that Kyle Rittenhouse had been invited to participate.
Shell Shock organizers describe the festival as a concert charity event that seeks to raise funds for a charity that "supports first responders struggling with injuries to include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)."
However, some of the bands set to play at the event dropped out recently after they became aware that Rittenhouse had been invited.
Rittenhouse gained national attention after killing two men and injuring a third in 2020 during a night of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer. He was charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering safety but was acquitted of all charges in November 2021 after testifying he acted in self-defense.
In a social media post shared on Sunday, the band Evergreen Terrace announced that it would be pulling out of the festival due to Rittenhouse's scheduled appearance.
In the post, the band mentioned that organizers had offered to cancel Rittenhouse's appearance following their decision to drop out of the lineup, but the band said following the news, they also learned that there would be "several associated entities" that they did not agree with.
“Evergreen Terrace has always supported and continues to support philanthropic events for veterans, PTSD awareness, child poverty, and many more, but we will not align with an event promoting a perceived murderer such as Kyle Rittenhouse capitalizing off of their pseudo celebrity. Unfortunately we did not do our due diligence with this particular event. Even after they offered to pull Kyle from the event, we discovered several associated entities that we simply do not agree with. As advocates for free speech we are respectfully canceling the Shell Shock festival. We will be personally contributing to a veterans charity and urge you to do the same. The promoters have been nothing less than understanding.”
In response to the group's decision, one of the festival's organizers, The Antihero Podcast, shared a statement on Instagram announcing the lineup change.
"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," the post's caption read.
The Slipknot tribute band SIC has since been added as a headliner.
Other groups that were set to perform at the festival, including Southpaw, American Hollow and Let Me Bleed, also dropped out of the event, citing the presence of "high-profile individuals" who the groups do not align with.
Following the decision to drop out of the event, Evergreen Terrace announced that it would be organizing a show in Orlando featuring the bands that dropped out of Shell Shock, adding that all of the proceeds from the show would go toward an associated veterans organization.
