Tell Radius & Auris Presents: Drop Boiler Room and elrow, Disclose Your Ties to Israeli Apartheid

We demand that Auris Presents cease hosting events like Boiler Room and elrow. These events are linked to Superstruct Entertainment, a company financially connected to KKR, a firm involved in Israeli apartheid. Auris Presents must take responsibility by cutting ties and disclosing their complicity.

The Palestinian people have endured years of violent displacement, apartheid, and systematic oppression. As their struggle continues, entities in the live entertainment industry in Chicago—such as Auris Presents, Radius, and ARC Music Festival—are complicit in perpetuating human rights violations by profiting from events tied to Israeli apartheid.

This year, Boiler Room (at Radius in June 2025) and elrow (as a sponsored stage at ARC Music Festival in September 2025) are clear examples of how the live entertainment industry contributes to the ongoing Israeli occupation. Both events are part of Superstruct Entertainment, which is financially linked to KKR, a firm that invests in the infrastructure sustaining Israeli apartheid. Despite these ties, elrow and Boiler Room continue to be platformed by Auris Presents through Radius, ARC Music Festival, and other venues linked to corporations supporting the Israeli occupation.

These connections have far-reaching consequences. It’s not just Palestinian communities who are impacted; they affect anyone who believes in justice and human rights. By hosting events tied to companies involved in the occupation, Auris Presents and its affiliated events and venues are normalizing violence and injustice in cultural spaces.

If Auris Presents continues to host Boiler Room, elrow, and other Superstruct events, they are endorsing profits that sustain the Israeli occupation and supporting the erasure of Palestinian voices. This complicity cannot be ignored.

Now is the time to act. The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement is gaining momentum, and the entertainment industry has a unique opportunity to make an impactful statement. The ongoing partnership between Auris Presents, Radius, and Superstruct Entertainment—including events like elrow at the ARC Music Festival—directly contradicts the global call for justice for Palestine. KKR has investments both directly in Israel and in multiple companies specifically listed on the BDS list.

We can no longer ignore the harmful effects these events have on the Palestinian struggle. Every dollar spent at events hosted by Radius or Auris Presents that benefit from Israeli apartheid contributes to perpetuating violence and oppression.

Auris Presents and Radius have the power to do the right thing: publicly disclose their ties, sever connections with Superstruct Entertainment, and ensure their spaces are not used to normalize injustice. The choice is theirs, but the consequences of inaction will be felt globally.

Auris Presents: Fighting for Independence or Supporting Corporate Monopolies?

Auris Presents was founded in 2021 with the mission to protect independent promoters and venues, warning against the dangers of monopolies in the industry. In a statement, Auris founder Nick Karounos highlighted the importance of ensuring that “one company isn’t able to monopolize the industry,” pointing out the harm it could do to artists, fans, and the integrity of the fan experience.

Today, Radius and Auris Presents are now both subsidiaries of Live Nation—one of the most powerful and monopolistic corporations in the global entertainment industry. Live Nation has been the subject of multiple federal investigations and lawsuits, including a major 2024 antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general for using its dominance to suppress competition. 

These contradictions only deepen when Auris Presents continues to support events connected to KKR, such as Boiler Room and elrow—thereby backing corporate monopolies. KKR, like Live Nation, has faced legal action from the U.S. Department of Justice for antitrust violations, exposing its role in anti-competitive practices that limit consumer choice and harm the market.

We’ve already seen what happens when Live Nation puts profit over people. Ten lives were lost at Astroworld, and in our own city, part of the ceiling collapsed at Radius during a show. These are not accidents—they are symptoms of a system where safety is expendable and accountability is avoided. This ownership shift happened quietly, but the impact is loud: when monopolies run our venues, our lives are at risk.

Just as safety becomes a casualty of profit here, Palestinian lives are made expendable in the same systems of corporate greed and unchecked power. Hosting events like Boiler Room and elrow, backed by KKR—a firm financially tied to the infrastructure of Israeli apartheid—makes Radius and Auris complicit in that violence.

We understand that ownership structures can be complex. But complexity does not excuse complicity.

If full divestment from Live Nation is not immediately possible, Radius and Auris must still act ethically:

• Disclose their ownership and partnerships publicly
• End relationships with Superstruct, Boiler Room, and elrow
• Refuse to profit from systems that harm, exploit, and erase lives

Our scenes are sacred. Our safety matters. Palestinian lives matter.
There is no liberation on a stolen stage.