Masked St. Petersburg rock outfit King Complex has been added to an impressive Changeville lineup that already includes headlining sets from Japanese Breakfast, Big Freedia, AJJ, Laura Stevenson, Ted Leo and more.
The Gainesville “music and art festival for social change” — set for February 7-8 — made its final lineup announcement on Tuesday morning, and added other Floridian CL favorites like The Pauses, but the big news is the addition of Venezuelan punk band The Zeta.
The Zeta has been in headlines as of late thanks to an immigration issue surrounding guitarist and co-founder Daniel Saud, who recently had his resident petition denied.
The band was approved for working visas two years ago and has been touring the country relentlessly ever since. That touring has even brought the band to Tampa Bay for a Best of the Bay-winning show in 2017 and an album release show at Tampa record store Microgroove in 2018. Members decided to apply for U.S. residency recently, and the band took every necessary step only to have all members except for Saud approved.
An appeal is in the works, but now the guitarist — who is essential to the fabric of the prog-leaning rock outfit that regularly leaves jaws on the floor after performances — may have to leave the country altogether, leaving the The Zeta without a core member.
“The entire band pours their heart and soul into each performance and are some of the most genuine people I've ever met,” Woody Bond, a Tampa drummer CL featured in its 2018 Music Issue, wrote about the band. Eliot Mayo, who fronts Bay area noise-rock band Vacancy, also testified to Zeta’s character.
“This is pretty soul crushing,” Mayo wrote. “Here’s to hoping that spreading the word can help Dani stay here and help them to continue to inspire through their art.”
In a phone call with Creative Loafing Tampa, Changeville organizer Charlie Daffron said that he was unsure how the immigration issue will affect the band’s ability to play the festival. He also added that everyone at the festival is willing to help Zeta navigate any of the issues surrounding the conundrum that Saud is in.
Tickets to the festival start at $12, and more information is available via changeville.us. Watch The Zeta slay below.
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