Pantera removed from German festivals’ lineups
Germany’s twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have removed Pantera from this year’s bill following a backlash over the band’s booking.
The US heavy metal group, who reunited last year, were due to appear at the simultaneously held rock festivals, scheduled for 2-4 June in Nürburgring and Nuremberg, respectively.
However, a statement posted on the events’ social media channels confirms the band’s appearances have been cancelled.
“Pantera will not be performing at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023, as announced,” it says. “In the last few weeks, we have had many intensive conversations with artists, our partners and you, the festival fans. We have continued to deal with the criticism together and decided to remove the band from the programme.”
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer Pantera a stage”
Blabbermouth reports the impetus for the decision was provided by past racism allegations levelled against Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo, which prompted calls to pull the group from the line-up.
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer the band Pantera a stage,” says Réka Lörincz, spokesperson against racism and right-wing extremism for Nuremberg City Council’s green faction. “Their singer Phil Anselmo had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents. Therefore, a performance was unimaginable for us – especially on the former Nazi party rally grounds.”
Promoted by Eventimpresents/DreamHaus, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023 will be headlined by Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and Die Toten Hosen. Pantera is yet to respond to their removal from the bill.
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Pantera, Slipknot to headline new Portugal fest
Pantera and Slipknot are to headline a new rock and metal festival launching in Portugal next year.
The inaugural Evil Live festival will take place on 28 and 29 June at Altice Arena (cap. 20,100) in Lisbon, with more acts to be announced.
Described as “a new festival dedicated to the heaviest sounds, in all its aspects, with a commitment to the diversity of genres and subgenres as its backbone”, the Evil Live festival promises to deliver acts “from mainstream to alternative, from riffs and guitars to new, more contemporary trends and from established big names to emerging talent”.
“Evil Live is sescribed as “a new festival dedicated to the heaviest sounds, in all its aspects”
A day pass costs €70 while a two-day ticket is priced at €120.
The event is organised by Lisbon-based concert and festival promoter Prime Artists, which deals primarily with guitar bands.
For more than a decade, the promoter has organised the annual heavy rock festival Vagos Open Air in Portugal’s capital city but it was recently revealed that the event won’t return in 2023.
In the last few months a slate of new rock festivals have been announced, including Ocesa’s The World Is A Vampire, C3 Presents’ Sick New World and Live Nation’s Adjacent.
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