Saintseneca Take Stand, Draw National Headlines
When the band Saintseneca decided to take a personal stand regarding the Fashion Meets Music Festival in their hometown of Columbus Ohio, they never anticipated it would grab international headlines – outlets as wide reaching as the Huffington Post, Vibe, USA Today, Pitchfork, MTV, Spin, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, as well as the BBC, NME and The Guardian have all taken note of the young band’s bold stance.
Festival organizers had announced controversial singer R. Kelly as the headliner of the festival, and so the up and coming band decided to withdraw from the show. Saintseneca explained their reasoning, "We feel [R. Kelly's] selection as a performer ignores his very serious allegations of sexual violence and assault, We feel it is an affront to all survivors, who are already often overlooked and forgotten in our society." In addition, the band announced they would organize an alternative event that same weekend with proceeds benefiting survivors of sexual assault.
This could have proved an unpopular decision and cost the band an opportunity to perform in front of a large audience. Instead it provided a lesson in the power of conviction. Saintseneca was joined in protest by the band Damn The Witch Siren and radio station WCBE 90.5 FM withdrew their sponsorship of the festival. Then on July 29th, festival organizers and R. Kelly “decided to part ways.”
To find out more about Saintsenca go to http://saintseneca.com/