This year’s Soulshine at Sea festival has officially been called-off after several acts began to drop-off the lineup following allegations regarding the headlining artist.
Originally, Dispatch, Maggie Rose, Hirie, and Liz Vice were among the acts set to take the stage, however, a handful of artists backed-out, citing allegations made against another artist on the lineup. Dispatch first shared the news in a Facebook post.
“We have been made aware of deeply concerning public allegations involving another artist on the lineup and have chosen to withdraw from the event,” Dispatch said. “We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.”
Maggie Rose followed suit, adding in an Instagram story that “there were some allegations made by a peer of mine about another artist on the lineup and I want to stand in solidarity with her.”
Hirie also shared an update, adding she would not appear at the fest and “while I’m not here to pass judgement or speak on what did or didn’t happen, I feel it’s important for me to take a pause out of respect for all parties involved and to give space for the situation to be addressed.” Liz Vice simply wrote that she would be withdrawing from the event, noting, “stay woke and believe victims.”
Festival promoter Sixthman took to social media to share that the event, set to take place from November 4 to 8 and headlined by Michael Franti, is cancelled. The concert cruise was scheduled to sail from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico on the Norwegian Jewel. Alongside musical performances, the event promised wellness and cooking activities.
“We are actively working to announce a new event that will sail November 4-8, 2025,” the festival promoter said.
Franti posted a short statement on social media, addressing that he had a “relationship” with an unnamed artist outside his marriage.
“I’m aware of the recent posts this artist made about our relationship, and while I support her need to express herself publicly, the relationship was completely consensual, based on mutual feelings and attraction,” Franti said. “I vehemently dispute any version of the story that says otherwise.”
“I will however take full accountability for not better recognizing the power imbalance as she was younger than me, and I was the headliner on tour,” Franti continued. “For those reasons alone, I never should have allowed the relationship to become romantic.”
The allegations were brought forth by musician Victoria Canal. She previously accused an unnamed “very powerful” man in the music industry who sexually abused and groomed her at the age of 19.
“This is something I’ve never spoken about publicly, and have been holding for 8 years now – it has plagued my body, spirit, and mind, in subliminal and overt ways, for my entire 20s,” Canal wrote.
Canal said that a “very powerful, decades older man plucked me out of the internet, and college, and invited me on my first professional opportunity.” However, she said that she would not name the alleged abuser because “I can’t risk the financial loss or emotional terror a lawsuit would bring.” She described the alleged abuser as someone with a family and dedicated following that has “a history of incredibly damaging behavior across the board.”
The alleged abuse progressed over a year, Canal said, writing that the abuser began touching her and taking pictures of her “without my awareness or consent,” and at the time, “this person made me believe that if I ever told anyone what he was doing, my career would be over before it started.” Canal said the alleged abuser even “verbally admitted” that “getting me in this position had been his plan all along.”
The festival has not provided any further updates at this time.
