Will South By Southwest Deport International Acts? SXSW Co-Founder Responds To Immigration Controversy

South by Southwest (SXSW) has long been an event for artists from every walk of life to attend, but after Felix Walworth, the frontman of the band Told Slant, revealed a part of his contract, many people are now angry at organizers.

On Thursday, Walworth shared a screenshot of the alleged artist agreement which featured language that indicated SXSW reserved the right to call immigration authorities on any international artists who performed outside of the festival’s own showcases.

According to Walworth’s screenshot, if “SXSW determines, in its sole discretion, that showcasing acts or their representatives have acted in ways that adversely affect the viability of their official SXSW showcase, the following actions are available to SXSW.”

The agreement went on to state that credentials and hotel bookings could be cancelled and that “SXSW will notify the appropriate U.S. immigration authorities.” The contract also reads that any “international artists entering the country through Visa Waiver Program, B visa or any non-work visa may not perform at any public or non-sanctioned SXSW Music Festival Day or Night shows in Austin.”

Bands and artists such as Downtown Boys, Sheer Mag, Immortal Technique, Jay Som and Girlpool have signed an open letter directed at SXSW, asking organizers to remove the clause from the contract. The letter went on to demand a public apology from the festival.

Under pressure, SXSW co-founder Roland Swenson told the Austin Chronicle that Walworth had cut and pasted two images from two different parts of the agreement, but when Walworth responded with a video of the unedited contract, Swenson said he “mistakenly thought an artist agreement had been altered, when in fact Walworth was referencing the ‘invite letter.’”

Swenson did confirm that similar language has been in the contract for five years. In his interview with the Austin Chronicle, Swenson said, “We’ve had these restrictions in the agreement for about five years and never had to enforce them.”

The co-founder went on to say that “all this stuff” about “getting deported and immigration” is just the event warning people of what could happen if they did something “bad enough.” Swenson went on to say, “It’s not us saying we’re going to try and have you deported, it’s us warning them that if they violated the terms of the visa that got them here, that’s what could happen.”