NPR asks why Italian band were deported ++ more SXSW bands have been denied U.S. entry this year
Last Friday, we read about the horrible ordeal Italian band Soviet Soviet went through while trying to enter the United States to play SXSW and some other shows. NPR looked more closely at the issue to find answers:
According to Soviet Soviet, its members told immigration officials that at two of the planned shows, the venues would be charging fans entry fees, but that the band itself would not get paid for those performances. The group seemed to believe that not receiving income from those shows would keep it on the right side of CBP — but this is exactly where Soviet Soviet’s case goes sideways.
Check out the NPR piece for a lot more detail, and a related informational Facebook post by music visa expert Matthew Covey of Tamizdat.
Meanwhile, in related news, more reports of bands being not let in the US to play SXSW have been emerging. This is nothing new. We post stories like this every year on BrooklynVegan, and those are only about the bands we heard of, but the cases are getting even more attention this year given the special circumstances, political atmosphere, and possibility that things are getting even worse. Billboard has an article pointing out that at least seven more artists have been denied entry to the U.S. for SXSW this year, including Egyptian-Canadian post-hardcore band Massive Scar Era, London-based drummer Yussef Kamaal.
