Wolfmother are at the centre of a debate about whether artists should perform at an event that is sponsored by a tobacco company, with health organizations including the Australian Cancer Council putting pressure on the band to pull out.
The furore is surrounding Jakarta, Indonesia’s Java Rockin' Land festival, to be held on October 8 to 10 and whose major sponsor is Gudan Garam, one of Indonesia's biggest tobacco companies.

Initially it seemed that Wolfmother had agreed to cancel their appearance, after frontman Andrew Stockdale posted a statement at a website, according to the ABC. “It is without hesitation I will now announce that we will be cancelling our headline show at Java Rockin' Land on the 10th of October 2010. We are very regretful to miss this opportunity to play to our Indonesian fans, though hopefully in the not too distant future we can do more shows under different terms.”

However, the band has since changed their mind. "This one is for the fans in Indonesia who have parted with their very own cold hard cash to see Wolfmother," the band said in a statement on their official website. “We neither support or condemn the sponsors affiliated with the festival.”

The band’s tour agent Joe Segreto defended Stockdale’s about-face, saying “Andrew was freaked out,” but his job is to play a show. “He does not endorse any tobacco company, any alcohol company, any other company that's involved in this event. That's none of his business and he doesn't want to let down any of his fans."

However Simon Chapman, professor of public health at Sydney University, says more effective steps should and can be taken by musicians. "The new Wolfmother statement contrasts with the action taken by American singer Alicia Keys, who in 2008 refused to play a Jakarta tobacco gig unless all sponsorship and marketing by Philip Morris Sampoerna brand was stopped," Professor Chapman said according to the ABC. "She got her way, as did American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson this year when she sang there."