What actually happened at Under The K Bridge?

On Friday, July 10, during the first night of Boiler Room's two day takeover of Under The K Bridge in Brooklyn, headlined by JID and Kenny Beats, at least five protesters lay down on the dancefloor in a die-in. Their shirts read: 'Boiler Room is owned by Israeli arms investors [KKR].' Footage posted by the campaign group Boycott Room shows other attendees stepping on and shoving the protesters as they lay on the ground. Boycott Room says the pile-on went on for 18 minutes before security moved in.

"It's been almost a full year since we first put out our international call to Shut It Down In Every City, and it's clear Boiler Room is now scraping the very bottom of its barrel," Boycott Room said.

Why is KKR the actual target here?

Boiler Room has changed hands twice in under two years. Private equity firm KKR took a majority stake in Superstruct Entertainment, the pan European festival and events group, for around 1.3 billion euros in June 2024. Superstruct then bought Boiler Room outright from DICE in January 2025. Boycott Room's case against KKR centers on the firm's broader portfolio: investments the group ties to weapons manufacturing, the Coastal GasLink pipeline fight with Wet'suwet'en land defenders in Canada, and companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Boiler Room has addressed the acquisition before, saying its new owner's investments 'categorically don't align with our values,' while maintaining it still books artists under BDS/PACBI guidelines.

Did the second night change anything?

On July 11, another protester walked up to the DJ booth mid set, cut the music and held up an anti-Boiler Room shirt to the crowd before security ushered them off stage, during a night that also featured KI/KI, Interplanetary Criminal and ØTTA. Off site, Boycott Room NYC teamed up with DJs Against Apartheid, Cultural Solidarity Project and Heads Know to throw a counter rave the same night, booking Archangel, DJ Haram, Sister Zo, Ella Hussle and Janus Rose. Every dollar of proceeds went to artist fees plus aid groups working with Palestinians and the Wet'suwet'en First Nations, according to the organizers.