Sprints have issued a statement after frontwoman Karla Chubb was sexually assaulted at a show.
The band addressed the situation on Sunday (April 21), explaining that this was the second time during their ongoing tour that an incident like this has occurred. The Dublin rockers have been on a world tour tour since February in support of their debut album ‘Letter To Self’.
“Yesterday Karla was sexually assaulted for the second time on the ‘Letter To Self’ tour. The fact that this has occurred twice is abhorrent, the fact that it still happens at all is disgusting. We will not stand for it and we will not be silent about it,” began their statement.
Notes on yesterday. pic.twitter.com/NVPvFf03d1
— SPRINTS (@SPRINTSmusic) April 21, 2024
They continued: “Female performers should be able to engage with their audience, step off the stage or perform without fear of groping, unwanted touching, cat-calling and harassment. The fact that this is still an everyday occurrence for most women is beyond reprehensible.
“To those who noticed and called out the behaviour yesterday, thank you. To those of you responsible for the behaviour, shame on you. Do better.”
Sprints are set to wrap up their tour within the next two weeks. They are currently making their way through Ireland with their next gig taking place on April 25 at Coughlans in Cork. Check out a full list of remaining tour dates below and visit here for any last minute remaining tickets.
Sprints 2024 ‘Letter To Self’ Ireland tour dates are:
Recommended
APRIL
25 – Cork, Ireland, Coughlans
26 – Listowel, Ireland, Mike The Pies
MAY
3 – Dublin, Ireland, Button Factory
4 – Dublin, Ireland, Button Factory
In a five-star review of ‘Letter To Self’, NME wrote: “Yet for all its heavy-hitting subject matter, the beauty in ‘Letter To Self’ is the optimism it leaves you with, the noise well and truly drowning out the pain in an empowering fashion. O’Reilly’s dynamic guitar lines battle against the lyrics, keeping things upbeat in the likes of ‘Literary Mind’ and maintaining the dramatic flair on the eerie ‘Shaking Their Hands.’
“This is a dynamic album that is reflective of the muddled world we find ourselves in – delivered with a fortifying sense of honesty from an essential emerging band.”
In other news, Sprints were one of the Irish bands to have pulled out of SXSW 2024 in solidarity with Palestine.