Earth were progenitors of stoned, lengthy drone-metal works before Sleep and Sunn O))) existed. Frontman and only permanent member Dylan Carlson has been around the Olympia scene long enough that Kurt Cobain convinced him to purchase a very infamous gun for him as "protection." The band is currently a duo with drummer Adrienne Davies, and they're currently on tour in Europe, where they were set to perform in Bologna, Italy last night at the venue TPO. That did not end up happening.

According to one concertgoer's Facebook post, after openers Nataša Grujović and Steve Moore played their sets, Carlson objected to the venue displaying a Palestinian flag and refused to play unless they took it down. They did not, so Earth canceled the gig.

A tweet from @adumanlio stated (translated from Italian):

"Stage was ready and everything. They were supposed to start at 9:30 pm. At 10:15 pm someone from TPO came out saying that Carlson, the singer, wouldn’t perform unless they removed the Palestinian flag. TPO said 'we’re not taking it down' and they cancelled everything."

The Italian site Indie for Bunnies concurred (translated from Italian):

"The historic post-rock band of Washington state led by Dylan Carlson asked to remove a Palestinian flag present in the venue, but the TPO refused, so Earth decided to cancel the live (organized by Hardstaff Booking and the Freakout Club)."

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Neither the headliner nor the venue have said anything about refunds, but Earth's Instagram post blamed the venue for "putting politics above the music" and claims TPO canceled the show. View that post below.

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