Yesterday afternoon (August 24) Irish rap trifecta Kneecap took the stage in Saint-Cloud, France at the historical Rock En Seine festival. This comes after months of controversy, including being banned from Hungary and a Coachella performance that resulted in some calling for their US visas to be revoked, along with their places on many major festival lineups.
The group played out their set in full despite pro-Israel, anti Kneecap protests within the crowd. Whistles and flags were amongst the methods used by to shortly disrupt the beginning of the gig. The protesters were identified and removed quickly by security, whilst being serenaded with chants of “free free Palestine” by a crowd largely stood in solidarity with Kneecap’s perspective.
Moglai Bap, a rapper from the band, took the opportunity to speak at length on the matter. He said “They wanna try and stop us. They don’t want us to play the festival. We’re not going to allow them to get away. We’re not like them. We’re not like Israel. We’re not here to cause fights. We’re here to have a good time. If anyone blows whistles, let security know, we’ll get rid of them. No aggravation. It’s all love, all support for Palestine”
The festival boasted a mammoth set of headliners with acts like Fontaines DC, Chappell Roan and Queens of the Stone Age drawing people back to the annual festival. However it was the inclusion of Kneecap on the lineup that caused the most conversation. Rock En Seine stood with the group despite calls for them to do the opposite and in doing so the mayor of Saint-Cloud redacted €40,000 worth of funding for the festival. Mayor Eric Berdoati said in a public statement that this was because the festival was “no longer in line with their objectives.” This comes amidst the ongoing trial of group member Mo Chara who allegedly displayed a Hezbollah flag at a London show last year. Kneecap have constantly defended themselves on social media since the allegations, on one occasion labelling them a “carnival of distraction”
Kneecap will wrap their summer up on August 29, when they support Fontaines DC at a gig in their home city of Belfast.
