Tramlines speak out against KKR, while Sónar vows to “never send them a single Euro” after 28 artists pull out in pro-Palestine protest

Tramlines Festival has spoken out against its controversial new owners KKR, with Sónar vowing to “never send them a single Euro”.

The Sheffield event is one of 80 festivals owned by Superstruct Entertainment, which is now majority owned by KKR following a reported $1.3billion deal in 2024. The firm holds significant investments in companies with ties to Israel amid the country’s ongoing conflict with Palestine.

Recently, the likes of Field Day, Mighty Hoopla, Boiler Room and Sónar have addressed concerns about being tied to KKR. Earlier this month, more than 60 artists who are due to play or have previously played Sónar signed an open letter to organisers over their “complicity” with the private equity firm.

Now, the team behind Tramlines have discussed the situation in their own open letter. Additionally, 28 artists have cancelled their slots at this year’s Sónar as a result of its links to KKR.

The latter festival claimed that money does “not at all” go to KKR, and that they have never have or “will ever send a single euro” to the firm. It said that after the organising costs are incurred, “all profits are reinvested, in their entirety, in future editions of Sónar”.

Tramlines, meanwhile, promised that “such associations” were “directly in opposition to [its] ethos, aims and values”, and that any profit would go towards “the development of [Superstruct’s] festivals and nothing else”.

“Like so many of you in Sheffield and beyond, the team here at Tramlines has been following with horror the appalling situation in Gaza and the unconscionable treatment of its people by the government of Israel,” the message began.

“The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is in breach of humanitarian laws including, plausibly, on genocide.”

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The open letter continued: “We would like to publicly add our voices to the calls for an immediate end to their military action, the unrestricted resumption of vital aid deliveries and adherence to international law.

“We’re far from being experts, and we know there will be debate about why we are commenting on this now, or even if we should. Some will see this subject as outside our ‘lane’, others will think we’re not saying enough.”

Tramlines added: “As a team, right now, we simply want to see an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and stand with those demanding their fair treatment as the starting point for long-term peace in the region.

“Our own discussion of this issue has been brought into sharp focus by recent questions around the ownership of a company called Superstruct, who became our partner in Tramlines in 2019.”

“For those who don’t know, Superstruct is a company founded by people with enormous experience of creating and running independent festivals, who invest in teams like ours working hard to give you the best possible festival experiences for a long time to come.”

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“In short, we run Tramlines independently as we always have, making our own creative and commercial decisions, and they can offer help when we need it.”

The statement went on: “We recently found out that a fund who invested in Superstruct in 2024 has separate investments which have been criticised as unethical.

“We want to make it clear to everyone that such associations are directly in opposition to our ethos, aims and values. While we have no control over the decisions made by outside investors in Superstruct, we will continue to use our platform to make our position heard and understood.”

“We wanted you to hear about this from us first. It is important for us to be clear about where your money goes when you buy a ticket for Tramlines.”

Organisers said they could “absolutely reassure” attendees that “your ticket pays for the festival and artists you love, the incredible staff and freelancers who put on the show every year and our Tramlines Trust community initiatives here in Sheffield”

“If there’s a profit, it remains entirely within Superstruct, for the development of their festivals and nothing else,” The open letter concluded. “Thank you for your support over all these years and we can’t wait to see you at Hillsborough Park in July. Love, The Tramlines Team.”

When addressing customers’ “questions and concerns” on its website, Sónar shared the full list of artists who had pulled out of the festival, and said it was “working to confirm replacements”. Find more information here.

Organisers had previously released a statement on its ownership, calling itself a “platform that promotes diversity, inclusion, and respects the freedom of expression of its artists, participants, and collaborators”.

“The Sónar team has always worked and will always work with the premise of promoting respect for universal human rights,” they wrote. “The festival strongly condemns all forms of violence.”

Superstruct is also the owner of Boardmasters, Y Not, Truck, Kendal Calling, Victorious, Flow Sziget, Lost Village, Bennicassim and more events across Europe.

Earlier this month, 11 artists joined the boycott of Field Day in solidarity with Palestine, after more than 50 artists – including Massive Attack and Brian Eno –  signed an open letter urging the festival to distance itself from KKR.

Pulp, who are headlining Tramlines 2025 alongside The Reytons and Kasabian, also signed the document.

The post Tramlines speak out against KKR, while Sónar vows to “never send them a single Euro” after 28 artists pull out in pro-Palestine protest appeared first on NME.