British band Martha will no longer open for Brand New on their upcoming UK tour.
The fallout from yesterday’s news that Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey has been accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor has begun. Martha, the DIY punk band scheduled to support Brand New on their upcoming UK run, has exited the tour.
In a post made on Twitter early Saturday morning, the band wrote:
“We have decided to pull out of the brand new shows. Support survivors always.”
Martha’s announcement comes less than one full day after a woman named Nicole Elizabeth Garey came forward with her story of interacting with Lacey when she was fifteen years old. According to Garey, a chance encounter at a holiday show in upstate New York lead to communication over email, instant messenger, and eventually video chats over the course of several years. Lacey was twenty-four when the interactions allegedly began.
Neither Lacey nor other members of Brand New have commented on Garey’s story.
It’s worth noting that Martha has been on our radar for some time. The band has been supporting the 2016 release of Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart for the past eighteen months. Their rowdy take on indie punk paints a vivid portrait of life in the modern age and the complex emotions that come from trying to navigate a time when everyone is connected, yet somehow lonelier than ever.
