Kneecap were set to perform at the Hurricane Festival in June, one of Germany’s largest festivals and its sister event, the Southside Festival. The festivals issued a statement last week saying: “Kneecap will not be performing at Hurricane and Southside Festival this year,” without providing further context. At the same time, the ticket provider for the events also stated that the events have been cancelled.
Following their performance at the US Coachella Music Festival in April, where Kneecap displayed “f*** Israel, free Palestine” on the stage, the band has received a surge of backlash, including calls to revoke their work visas to the US, championed by TV personality Sharon Osborne.
The US booking agency Independent Artist Group (IAG), which sponsored Kneecap’s US work visas, announced the band is no longer their client. The band were set to tour in the US in October, with most of the shows being sold out.
Badge of honor
A festival is a celebration of music, community and humanity. It can bring everyone together in peace. Bringing division with your agendas goes against everything a festival stands for. Tying your political stance to your attendance at a festival is foolish.
That said there’s a lot of mean folk in power, trying to shut down anyone who is against
warmongers and terroriststhe Israeli government’s cruel crusade, and this was possibly that.A festival is a celebration of music, community and humanity.
Music, as with all art forms, can powerfully express emotion, including reaction to policy and politics. Communities cannot survive and thrive by ignoring its politics. And therefore nor can humanity. My point being, to be apolitical isn’t inherently good for music, community nor humanity, and when it comes to supporting a genocide or apartheid and other inhuman antisocial behavior, that’s a division worth making to benefit community and humanity.
Obviously it’s fine to seek and enjoy less political works, I often do, but it’s strange to suggest that artists should repress their politics in their art performance. Kneecap has made no secret that they are an anti-colonial republicanist act, naming themselves in reference to an IRA practice.
I think people might be misreading your comment and you’re actually criticizing the festival hosts not the band right?
I find it ridiculous to invite e.g. Irish bands and then be surprised that they take a stance against genocide and colonization. To me it’s really a badge of honor for anyone to get canceled for being pro-Palestine.
Of course it’s a badge of honour, the opposite stance would be to be pro genocide… YSK, Kneecap took that stance multiple times before they were famous, very much at their own expense.
“Politics is when people talk about things which do not affect white people”
Stop bringing in racial division to derail the message.
