For nearly 30 years, the Israeli duo Infected Mushroom has been a giant in the electronic music world. Amit Duvdevani and Erez Eisen are famous for their mind-bending psytrance music and a simple goal: to “spread love”. But their planned 2025 Australian tour ran into a major roadblock. 1
The tour was hit by a wave of cancellations after backlash from pro-Palestine supporters. It all started with a festival in Queensland and then spread, forcing fans, venues, and the artists themselves to ask some tough questions. Can music stay out of politics during a major global conflict? And what happens when an artist’s nationality becomes the main event?
The Festival That Drew a Line in the Sand
The trouble began when Earth Frequency Festival (EFF), a popular event in South East Queensland, announced Infected Mushroom as a headliner for its 20th anniversary. The announcement was met with excitement, but that quickly changed.
A vocal pro-Palestine group launched a campaign demanding the festival cancel the Israeli duo because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. EFF tried to find a middle ground. They released a statement saying they would 2 “never boycott artists based solely on nationality” but also noted that, “People expect more from their cultural platforms in 2025”.
This attempt at neutrality backfired. Many, including the band, felt the statement leaned pro-Palestinian. On June 25, Infected Mushroom announced they were pulling out. They accused the festival of bringing “politics into a dance festival environment” and giving in to “social media vitriol, hate and racial division”. 3
In response, EFF did something groundbreaking for an Australian festival. They created a new “ethical pledge” for all performers. The pledge requires artists to support First Nations justice, oppose racism, and affirm the festival’s right to refuse anyone complicit in war crimes or human rights abuses. Infected Mushroom’s withdrawal was directly tied to their decision not to sign this new pledge. One advocate involved with the policy said, 4 “Artists who cannot meet the most basic ethical standards will exclude themselves — and that’s exactly how it should be”.
The Adelaide Show and the “Safety” Exit
After the festival drama, the campaign moved to the duo’s solo shows. A sold-out performance at UniBar Adelaide was the next to get cancelled, but for a different reason.
A group called “Boycott Infected Mushroom” circulated a petition that got over 500 signatures. It accused the duo of being “active cultural ambassadors of Zionist ideology” and normalizing the conflict in Gaza.
UniBar Adelaide’s response was telling. The venue cancelled the show but made it clear that protesters had not provided “any compelling evidence” to back up their claims. Instead, the venue cited staff safety and the need to protect their team from “vitriol” as the main reason for the cancellation. This move allowed them to cancel the show without taking a political side. Activists, however, called the statement “weak” and accused the venue of “sitting firmly on the fence”. 5
A Fanbase Divided
The controversy has split the fan community right down the middle. Online forums on Reddit have become a place for heated debates.
Many fans jumped to the band’s defense. One commenter wrote, “They are just people making music. They have nothing to do with war in any way. It’s shocking how racist people are here”. Another argued that a university venue should be a place for all views, not one that caves to “cancel culture”. 6
On the other side, many supported the boycott. One user argued that artists who “ignore the Gaza Holocaust is going to rightfully be crapped on by real human beings and history for the rest of time”. They believe that in today’s world, silence is a political choice.
The debate got personal, too. One Jewish fan said they felt uncomfortable at a past show because of a large Israeli flag on the dance floor, comparing it to seeing “MAGA flags at EDC” because it “changes the subject of the experience” from unity to nationalism. In response, another fan explained that for many Jewish people, the flag isn’t about aggression but about identity and survival, stating, “Jews are the canary in the coal mine”.
The Show Isn’t Over Yet
Despite the cancellations in Queensland and Adelaide, the tour is not completely off. Many shows across Australia are still scheduled to go ahead, and some are already sold out, like the one in Sydney. This shows that the duo still has a massive and dedicated fanbase ready to show up for them.
The situation with Infected Mushroom’s tour is a clear sign of the times. It shows how global politics can crash into the world of art and music. For artists, venues, and fans, the line between entertainment and activism is becoming harder to see. This tour has become a major test case for how the music industry will handle these complex issues in the future.
- https://www.australianjewishnews.com/israeli-music-duo-cancels/ ↩︎
- https://www.reddit.com/r/InfectedMushroom/comments/1lkqv0c/infected_mushroom_pulls_out_of_earth_frequency/ ↩︎
- https://www.reddit.com/r/InfectedMushroom/comments/1lkqv0c/infected_mushroom_pulls_out_of_earth_frequency/ ↩︎
- https://themusicnetwork.com/australian-festival-introduces-ethical-pledge-for-artists/ ↩︎
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/ireland-says-it-will-boycott-eurovision-2026-if-israel-allowed-to-take-part/ ↩︎
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Adelaide/comments/1nes28b/unibar_adelaide_on_instagram_psa_regarding_the/ ↩︎
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Funny that infected Mushroom claimed it was “social media vitriol, hate and racial division”. https://www.reddit.com/r/InfectedMushroom/comments/1lkqv0c/infected_mushroom_pulls_out_of_earth_frequency/
Indeed, the apartheid state racially segregating. The projection and psychological displacement goes on, and the Palestinians are still institutionally abused.
The full quote attributed to them:
“Unfortunately, Earth Frequency Festival chose to bring politics into a dance festival environment influenced by political agenda and driven by social media vitriol, hate and racial division that ultimately has divided the community and some of our fans. The core values of any music event should not involve politics. It should be a place to celebrate life, friendships and community through music. And ultimately, just have fun.”
While your state systematically murders, starves and imprisons people without trial. Have fun. Don’t be political. Ew.