Lana del Rey performs during Lollapalooza Sao Paulo 2018 at the Interlagos racetrack on March 25, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Alexandre Schneider/Getty
Lana Del Rey is among the artists scheduled to perform at the upcoming Meteor Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel. As happens when artists announce live shows in Israel, she has faced criticism from Palestinian activists. On Sunday, August 19, Del Rey tackled the feedback she has received and attempted to explain her decision to perform in the country.
“I understand many of u are upset that we’re going to Tel Aviv for the Meteor festival,” she wrote on Twitter. “What I can tell you is I believe music is universal and should be used to bring us together. We signed on to the show w the intention that it would be performed for the kids there and my plan was for it to be done w a loving energy w a thematic emphasis on peace.”
— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) August 19, 2018
She added: “If you don’t agree with it I get it. I see both sides. But me and my band have been performing all over the world for months out of the years for close to 10 years now together. And we’re about to travel to a place that many big bands are playing this year and at this festival. We don’t always agree with the politics of the places we play within or even in our own country – sometimes we don’t even feel safe, depending on how far abroad we travel – but we are musicians and we’ve dedicated our lives to being on the road.”
“I would like to remind you that performing in Tel Aviv is not a political statement or a commitment to the politics there just as singing here in California doesn’t mean my views are in alignment w my current governments opinions or sometimes inhuman actions.”
Del Rey previously canceled a show in Tel Aviv in 2014 due to tensions in the Gaza strip.
Meteor Festival takes place in in Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, Israel on September 6-8. Other artists currently on the line-up include Pusha-T, Flying Lotus, ASAP Ferg, Kamasi Washington, DJ Koze, Ariel Pink, Yung Lean, and more.
