Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag have announced they’ve broken up. The break-up appears to have been quite sudden: the band were in the middle of a European tour and, according to Stereogum, were due to play a show in Prague the following night. Anti-Flag had a North American tour due to start later this year – that has also been cancelled.
The only public communication about the breakup was posted on their Patreon page. “Anti-Flag has disbanded,” the post read. “The Patreon has been switched into a mode where it will no longer charge the monthly fee. I will begin to process refunds to all patrons in the coming weeks. Once all refunds are processed the Patreon page will also be removed.”
Anti-Flag: ‘American Attraction’
The band have deleted their official social media pages and website, and bassist Chris “No. 2” Barker deleted his personal social media. Billboard approached the band for comment, but their publicist declined.
As Stereogum notes, there is speculation on Reddit that Anti-Flag’s breakup is related to a woman coming forward with a story of sexual assault. In an episode of the podcast Enough, released a day before the band’s breakup, the woman reveals she was assaulted by a singer in a political punk band. While the woman doesn’t name the band or the singer, fans have made some connections between her story and Anti-Flag.
The Pittsburgh outfit was formed in 1988 by singer Justin Sane, with their debut album Die For The Government arriving in 1996. They went on to release 13 studio albums, the most recent being 2023’s Lies They Tell Our Children.
Further Reading
Anti-Flag Talk Genuine Punk Bands, US Presidential Election & Upcoming Aus Tour