Photo: Press, Colin Way
Viet Cong have addressed the controversy surrounding their band name, issuing a statement explaining that they “never intended for our name to be provocative or hurtful."
Earlier this month, the band had a show canceled at Oberlin College because of their offensive name, which refers to the Vietnemese guerrilla resistance force in the Vietnam War.
The promoter for that show apologised for booking a band whose name: "deeply offends and hurts Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities, both in Oberlin and beyond."
The band’s statement regarding their name is as follows:
Our band, Viet Cong, has existed for a little over three years now. When we named ourselves, we were naive about the history of a war in a country we knew very little about. We now better understand the weight behind the words Viet Cong. While we don't take any concerns about the name lightly, we feel it is important to let you know that we never meant to trivialize the atrocities or violence that occurred on both sides of the Vietnam War. We never intended for our name to be provocative or hurtful.
We truly appreciate the seriousness of the feedback we've received, and we will continue to be open to listening to issues and concerns from all perspectives.
With love from the band Viet Cong.
Viet Cong are scheduled to play the following shows:
March 18-20 – Austin, TX SXSW
March 22 - Dallas, TX - Spillover Music Fest
March 24 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
March 25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
March 26 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest
March 27 - Seattle, WA - Barboza
March 28 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
March 29 - Victoria, BC - Upstairs Cabaret
May 7 - Lethbridge, AB - Electric Eye Music Festival
May 8-10 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
May 13 - Dublin, IE - Workman's Club
May 14 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet
May 15 - Hannover, DE - Cafe Glocksee
May 16 - Arhus, DK - Pop Revo
May 17 - Berlin, DE - Lido
May 20 - Munich, DE - Milla
May 21 - Cologne, DE - Blue Shell
May 22 - Paris, FR - Maroquinerie
May 23 - Brussels, BE - AB Club
May 26 - Toulouse, FR - Connexion
May 27 - Barcelona, ES - Sala Apolo
May 28-30 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera Sound
June 01 - Lyon, FR - Sonic
June 02 - Luzern, CH - Sudpol
June 3-5 - Marina Di Ravenna, IT - Beaches Brew Festival
June 7 - London, UK - Field Day Festival
June 13-14 - New York, NY - Northside Festival @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
July 17-19 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
August 16 - London, UK - Scala
August 20-21 - Brecon Beacons, Wales - Green Man Festival
August 21 - Biddinghuizen, NL - Lowlands Festival
August 22 - Brecon Beacons, Wales - Green Man Festival
August 22 - Biddinghuizen, NL - Lowlands Festival
August 23 - Brecon Beacons, Wales - Green Man Festival
August 23 - Biddinghuizen, NL - Lowlands Festival
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