NOFX Say They’ve Been ‘Banned in Our Own Country’ for Route 91 Shooting Joke
Punk band NOFX claim they have been "banned" from music venues and festivals across the U.S. after making offensive remarks regarding the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas, Nev. The band apologized for their comments, which came during a late-May show in Las Vegas, but they say it has made no difference.
"Because of the comments we made in Las Vegas ... every NOFX show has been cancelled in the U.S. We did not drop off the shows ... we were told that NOFX is not welcome to play ANY big venue in the United States. No joke!" NOFX lead singer Michael "Fat Mike" Burkett says in an Instagram post from Wednesday (June 12). "NOFX has effectively been banned in our own country."
During the May 27 Punk Rock Music & Bowling Festival, NOFX band members joked, "I guess you only get shot in Vegas if you are in a country band." Burkett added, "[The Route 91 shooting] sucked, but at least they were country fans and not punk rock fans." The band faced backlash from fans on Twitter, while NOFX and Burkett's band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes were axed from the lineup of Punk in Drublic Festival; additionally, Stone Brewing, which sponsors the band and manufactures a beer in their honor, severed ties with the band.
"This is not our choice, but it is our reality," Burkett says in his newest Instagram post. "We made a mistake, we apologized, and we gotta suffer the consequences."
Burkett notes that NOFX are still scheduled to perform in Canada, Europe and Mexico.
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims