Matty Healy Says the 1975 Will Only Play Festivals With Gender-Balanced Lineups
The 1975’s Matty Healy has discussed his commitment to gender equality in festival lineups in a new interview with Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Laura Snapes at The Guardian. After criticism was leveled at the lineups of UK-based festivals including Leeds and Reading, Snapes called for the band to “add a condition to your rider that says you’ll only play festivals that commit to X% (ideally 50%!) acts that include women and non-binary performers.” Healy responded:
Take this as me signing this contract – I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will, and believe this is how male artists can be true allies.
During the interview, Healy further discusses his decision: “It’s not a geopolitical nightmare: it’s the music industry, and it’s something that if everyone gets on board, we can fix.” Read the full piece at The Guardian.
The 1975’s new album Notes on a Conditional Form is out April 24. So far they have shared “The 1975,” “People,” “Frail State of Mind,” and “Me & You Together Song.” Their tour will feature support from Phoebe Bridgers and beabadoobee.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
