Lauwarm's music catalog includes Jamaican reggae, indie and pop music, but at a gig in Bern's Brasserie Lorraine on 18 July, the program was not well received.

The band, which consists of five white members, some of whom have dreadlocks, was allegedly engaged in cultural appropriation.

The criticism was about Lauwarm wearing dreadlocks and playing Jamaican music even though they themselves never experienced colonialism or racism.

The concertgoers are said to have expressed a "discomfort with the situation", which caused the organizer to cancel the ongoing performance.

"The public should have been protected"

The organizer Brasserie Lorraine apologized in a statement for "knowledge gaps" and believes that the audience should have been better "protected".

"We failed to handle it sufficiently in advance and to protect you," the organizer writes on his Facebook page.

The singer and the band's frontman Dominik Plumettaz tells the Swiss newspaper Blick that the atmosphere was initially good, but that when they were reached by the complaints during the break, it was decided to cancel the gig.

He refutes the accusations of cultural appropriation.

- I understand that some people are sensitive to this topic, but music thrives when cultures mix, he tells the newspaper and continues:

- We have combined elements from the reggae, pop and indie world in our sound for several years and have never had problems before.

Politicians critical

The incident has led to debate in social media as to whether the reactions of the organizer and the audience are reasonable.

Politicians have also weighed in on the issue.

Tom Berger is co-chairman of the Free Democratic Party, FDP, in Bern.

Since the canceled concert, he has made a critical statement on Twitter.

"Now we have to be honest.

If you feel 'uncomfortable' because white people make reggae music, could it be that YOU are the problem...?”

Kulturnyheterna seeks Lauwarm for an interview.