Viet Cong, a Canadian indie rock band that has won growing acclaim, said it would change its name after weathering criticism that it was cultural insensitive.
The band said its four members had a “long and difficult” debate but became convinced after numerous conversations with the Vietnamese community.
“We are a band who want to make music and play our music for our fans. We are not here to cause pain or remind people of atrocities of the past,” it said in a statement on Facebook.
“Art and music are about creative expression. However, our band-name is not our cause, and we are not going to fight for it. This is not what our band is about,” it said.
The band members said they would take their time to figure out what to call themselves, as “we rushed into our last band-name decision.”
The Viet Cong is the popular name for the pro-communist guerrilla force that defeated US-allied South Vietnam.
The band members, none of whom are of Vietnamese descent, initially argued that the name had no political connotations and was inspired by war movies.
Activists in Upper Midwestern US state of Minnesota, which has a large Southeast Asian community, have led a petition urging the well-known First Avenue club in Minneapolis to cancel Viet Cong’s show on September 24.
The petition said that the concert was “inconsistent with the strong values held by Minnesotans to welcome our refugee communities.”