Wandering Treehouse, a DIY art and music collective based in Louisville, organized a concert to raise funds for Palestinian Aid. They began negotiating with Zanzabar in November to host their event in the performance space at 2100 S. Preston St. The concert was scheduled for Saturday, March 15 and would feature performances by local artists By Perfect, Why Doms, Mucho Mango, Skiptracer, My Clown Shoes, Raden Paris, and Hope 2. But when Zanzabar posted their calendar of events for March, the Palestinian aid event was erased.
Founded in April 2024, Wandering Treehouse has hosted a broad spectrum of events, from clothing swaps to live music benefit shows, workshops, craft nights, and even a picnic in the park. This Palestinian aid fundraiser was confirmed by Zanzabar on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
Zanzabar messaged Wandering Treehouse at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 with concerns about the potential for controversy surrounding the event. Only 12 hours later—13 days before the event—Zanzabar officially canceled the event for “political and safety” reasons and a desire to “remain neutral.”
Despite having communicated clearly that the event would benefit Palestinian aid, Zanzabar said: “Nobody realized this was a fundraiser for an ongoing political situation.” The venue rationalized their decision when they said: “The last time we took a strong stance as a business for something we truly believe in, we had bullets fired through our windows twice. It was very scary and made [us] shy away from controversial events.”
No detail was provided for what “something” in Zanzabar’s past actually was. Irrespective of the stance the venue once took, their decision to cancel Wandering Treehouse’s Palestinian aid had the effect of being dismissive of well-documented human rights violations.
Wandering Treehouse responded to Zanzabar with an Instagram post that led with “Neutrality is not an option” and elaborated that “Palestinians have faced 75+ years of occupation, displacement, and apartheid. Standing for human rights is dangerous yes—but allowing oppression to continue is more. Speak up, take action, and stand in solidarity.”
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The morning of Monday, March 3, Zanzabar told Wandering Treehouse that they wanted to “make things right” and offered the venue to the event once more. Wandering Threehouse said they appreciate the apology and the offer but ultimately “decided it’d be best to find a venue that would support us from the start.” In an exclusive statement to LEO, the collective said: “We are not an organization of policing or cancellation. We believe conflict resolution is just as important as holding those accountable. We seek to cultivate a united community and hold space for people to learn from their mistakes and move forward.”
Louisvillians with a passion for liberation and justice will not obey in advance or hide from threats of violence by people who support discrimination and oppression. Despite a near blackout by mainstream media in the United States, the atrocities committed by Israel against Palestine are well documented.
The international non-governmental organization Amnesty International published the results of its research into the genocide of Palestinians (the same genocide referred to by Zanzabar as “a political situation”), titled “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Published in December 2024, the 294-page report found “sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.” The report documents Israel’s illegal occupation, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing operations.
“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” said Dr. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General and chief spokesperson at Amnesty International. “Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.”
Within 24 hours of Wandering Treehouse’s Instagram post, Zanzabar responded with: “We’re sorry for the mishandling of this situation.” In a carousel of three images, they made the official statement, “Our owners are self-admitted idiots. Well meaning but uneducated in the conflict in the Middle East.” Zanzabar further stated that the venue apologizes to Wandering Treehouse and all of the bands involved and will be making a donation to the GoFundMe launched by Wandering Treehouse to raise funds for Palestinian aid.
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Comments from local artists and audiences were heartening. “Art is political,” local favorite Lacey Guthrie commented on Zanzabar’s post. “You want to be a space that has the backs of the Gil Scott-Herons and Sinéad O’Connors of the world, not a space that shuts them down.” To such support, Wandering Treehouse told LEO: “The support from the community has been inspiring and is a tell of how, by gathering together, we can create change in our local community.”
Wandering Treehouse has found a new venue for the fundraiser. The Palestine aid concert will be at Woodbine Chamber (formerly known as the Chapel of St. Philip Neri), 236 Woodbine St. in Louisville. The event is Saturday, March 15. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the music starts at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission.
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 6, 2025.