Members of the Austin, Texas, rock band Lord Buffalo have said that they are canceling a tour of Europe because their drummer, Yamal Said, was detained by agents from United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The alleged incident took place on Monday, May 12, when Said “was forcibly removed from [the band’s] flight to Europe” at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
According to his bandmates, Yamal Said “is a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States (green card holder).” Last year, in an interview with VoyageAustin, the drummer said that his “family moved to Austin in the late ’80s, after a devastating earthquake hit Mexico City.”
Said “has not been released,” according to his bandmates, but he “has secured the legal representation he needs.” Pitchfork has reached out to CBP’s office of public affairs for comment and more information on the situation.
Lord Buffalo, a heavy psychedelic-Americana quartet, had been planning to play European shows in support of Holus Bolus, the album they released last year via Blues Funeral Recordings. The tour was set to begin on Thursday, May 15, in the Netherlands, and close on Friday, May 23, in Iceland. Lord Buffalo were going to be touring with Sweden’s Orsak:Oslo.
Orsak:Oslo will continue their tour without their co-headliners. In a statement, Orsak:Oslo wrote, “No one should be pulled off a plane and jailed for simply trying to travel and make art with their band. We won’t pretend to understand the full complexity of the situation, but this should not happen anywhere.”
Yamal Said’s arrest comes as more people have had difficulties entering and exiting the United States under the Trump administration. Members of the British punk band U.K. Subs said they were denied entry to the United States, apparently due to incorrect visas and also undisclosed reasons. The band’s bassist, Alvin Gibbs, speculated that his “regular and less than flattering public pronouncements regarding [President Donald J. Trump] and his administration were a factor” in his denial into the country.
Additionally, Bells Larsen, a trans singer-songwriter based in Montreal, said he was canceling a tour because he could not apply for a visa due to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ new policies that do not recognize transgender identities. FKA twigs has also had visa issues, and Grzegorz Kwiatkowski of the Polish rock band Trupa Trupa recently told NPR that he and his band had to miss out on performance opportunities due to visa delays.
