John Maus is no longer one of the headliners of ElectroniCON, a two-day festival at NYC’s Knockdown Center on August 25 & 26. The festival lineup was announced late last week and organizers say they’ve received criticism from both “performers and fans” for the booking, due to Maus attending the January 6, 2021 Capitol Attack with Ariel Pink. Here’s a statement written by ElectroniCON organizer and performer George Clanton:
Due to the response by our ElectroniCON family of performers and fans, we have decided to move forward on this year’s festival without John Maus.
I, George Clanton, apologize to everyone who felt unseen by this lineup decision, and the artists who have been unduly dragged into controversy. ElectroniCON is defined by its focus on outsider, underground electronic music and inclusive environment. We selected each of the venues that have hosted ElectroniCON events carefully as spaces that have historically held an inclusive space for POC and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We will never allow our singular event to turn into an unsafe space for our POC and LGBTQ+ fans and artists on the bill.
As longtime fans of John Maus’ music, we looked to his lyrics, crowds drawn during recent festival appearances and his statements denouncing white supremacy, fascism and violence against LGBTQ+ as evidence that his inclusion on our lineup wouldn’t attract a vitriolic crowd at ElectroniCON. We underestimated the division this booking would sew amongst our community and did not anticipate a toxic war of words to potentially move beyond the internet into our concert space. John Maus and team agreed the best thing for all is to step away from the show.
I regret that this has given cause to anyone to question our vehement stance against fascism. I, along with 100% Electronica and the venue, assure our incredible fanbase that ElectroniCON this year, along with all others past and future, will continue to be an inclusive event for all.
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Beyond that, I know for some of those more deeply involved in the ongoing discourse – your questions cannot be answered by a simple statement. I will be appearing tomorrow on a special edition of the @hottakesvapor live podcast at 9PM ET to answer your questions in conversation. As well as fielding user submitted questions through @vwnewsnetwork podcast later this week. More on that to follow
Maus, who had been criticized before the Capitol attack for appearing in a controversial, alt-right-leaning Adult Swim special, hasn’t made many public appearances since Capitol Attack, though he did perform at Substance L.A. in the fall of 2021. That was his first performance since the pandemic, before that, he last performed in March of 2020 at Knockdown Center. He does still have shows lined up.in the UK and Europe for August.
UPDATE: A representative for Maus shared a statement with Pitchfork. “I’m sorry that I made the ElectroniCON artists & fans feel unsafe,” it reads. “It seems like a very supportive and inclusive community so I regret I won’t be performing this year.” The representative told Pitchfork that he’s donating a portion of his cancellation fee to The Trevor Project and Hope Not Hate.
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