Reggae musicians performing at a bistro in the Swiss city of Bern had their performance cancelled after spectators accused the white musicians of cultural appropriation for having dreadlocks.
The German-speaking reggae group Lauwarm were scheduled to perform at the Brasserie Lorraine in Bern on Monday the 18th of July but the concert did not last long as patrons complained they were uncomfortable with the band.
The complaints allegedly stem from the fact member so the band are white and wear their hair in the dreadlocks hairstyle, a style synonymous with reggae legend Bob Marley and others, as the patrons accused the musicians of “cultural appropriation,” 20 Minutes reports.
Others allegedly accused the musicians of not being legitimate to play the musical style as they were not Jamaicans themselves.
The organisers of the concert later apologised to “all the people in whom the concert caused bad feelings” and announced they would be holding a roundtable discussion in August on the topic of cultural appropriation.
Local politician Tom Berger of the Swiss Liberals (PLR), commented on the incident and the reaction of the patrons saying, “Frankly, if you feel ‘uncomfortable’ because white people make reggae music, could it be YOU are the problem?”
The incident comes just months after a climate protest in Germany cancelled the performance of a major performer at the event due to her also having a dreadlocks hairstyle.
Singer Ronja Maltzahn lost her chance to perform in front of the crowd as the organisers deemed her hairstyle too problematic stating, “White people should not wear dreadlocks as they are appropriating a part of another culture without experiencing the systematic oppression behind it.”
“So if a white person wears dreadlocks, then it’s cultural appropriation because we, as white people, don’t have to confront history or the collective trauma of oppression because of our privilege,” the group stated.
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