Irist, the up-and-coming metal act from Atlanta that released the EP Gloria this fall, have started a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to try and recoup the roughly $20,000 in losses they incurred on a recent European tour supporting Pallbearer and Elder.
Though they expected not to turn a profit, they say the "current economic climate devastated the band's personal finances."
In a message on their GoFundMe page, Irist explain, "Both ticket and merch sales are down. The basic costs of affordable accommodations have skyrocketed and transportation and fuel costs are at an unprecedented high. The exponential growth in inflation along with deflated exchange rates combined to create a perfect storm of financial hurdles, and Irist have been left with a loss that is more than double what they anticipated."
In an interview, the burgeoning metal outfit went into details about their losses.
"Once we were out there, there was a perfect storm of things," Irist bassist Bruno Segovia tells Metal Hammer. "Gas prices went up exponentially, and merch sales were a third of what was expected. We were kind of expecting to lose some money, but nowhere near what actually happened."
The musician adds, "We were expecting to lose maybe a couple grand, not even counting our tickets."
But altogether, Irist lost "about $20,000, not including flights," Segovia continues. "Between merch bills, all the lodging, gas, van rental and everything. Gas ended up being €30 to €50 a day more than expected."
Irist drummer Pablo Devila says it was a hard decision to set up a GoFundMe "because of the perception of it. As common of a narrative as this is among touring musicians, there's still a strong sense of, Just suck it up. You worry about that kind of stuff, so there was a big debate before we decided to [do] it."
He adds, "Ultimately, we just trusted that this would be an ongoing conversation on social media and that other people will speak out about it."
Donate to Irist's crowdfunding campaign here. Check out the band's music below the message from their GoFundMe page.
Like many artists in 2020, Irist's debut LP 'Order of the Mind' and dreams of touring were sidelined by the pandemic. After a two-year hiatus and multiple schedule changes, Irist were finally able to traverse Europe, opening for Elder and Pallbearer. Although the tour was immensely successful and the band won over many fans on the 45-day run, the current economic climate devastated the band's personal finances. Irist chose to tour knowing that they would not make a profit. In fact, they expected to pay out of pocket and had a realistic budget planned with current data on expected costs.
However, as many artists have spoken about recently, the economics of touring have become grueling to musicians large and small: Both ticket and merch sales are down. The basic costs of affordable accommodations have skyrocketed and transportation and fuel costs are at an unprecedented high. the exponential growth in inflation along with deflated exchange rates combined to create a perfect storm of financial hurdles and Irist have been left with a loss that is more than double what they anticipated.
Irist was humbled by the response to their music in Europe. This tour reinforced their passion and commitment. While they had hoped to weather this economic storm, the band need your help in attempting to recover the unexpected costs from their tour. Please help support them. Any contribution helps!
Irist, "Heal" (Lyric Video)
