Brian Wilson has voiced his opposition to an upcoming performance by former bandmates Mike Love and Bruce Johnston’s Beach Boys touring group.
The headline performance is slated to take place at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada tomorrow, where over 850 companies will sell trophy hunting holidays and wildlife body parts. Donald Trump Jr is also a keynote speaker.
It all sounds pretty awful, and it’s easy to understand why Wilson is keen to distance himself from the event. He pointed out in a tweet that the organisation supports trophy hunting, something both he and fellow Beach Boy Al Jardine (who is also not part of Love and Johnston’s touring act) are “emphatically opposed to.”
He then linked to a petition on Change.org addressed to Beach Boys manager Elliott Lott, declaring a boycott of the band’s music unless the performance is cancelled. At the time of writing, 119,275 people have signed the petition.
It has been brought to my attention that on Wednesday February 5, The Beach Boys touring group licensed by Mike Love are headlining at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada…
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020
This organization supports trophy hunting, which Both Al and I are emphatically opposed to. There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition at https://t.co/vOUtJDq6t2
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020
“We the undersigned pledge to stop buying or downloading all Beach Boys music, going to Beach Boys concerts, and purchasing any Beach Boys merchandise until the Beach Boys withdraw from the SCI Convention and publicly state their opposition to this sick ‘sport’ of killing animals for ‘fun’,” reads a letter on the petition.
“We will call on the Beach Boys’ record label, agent and publicists to disown the Beach Boys, and on members of the public to protest at forthcoming Beach Boys concerts, unless they do so.”
Mike Love has since responded to Wilson’s opposition in a statement, saying “We look forward to a night of great music in Reno and, as always, support freedom of thought and expression as a fundamental tenet of our rights as Americans.”
