For supporters of independent, confrontational music and politically engaged art, the prospect of Bob Vylan headlining Shambala is a bold and welcome statement. The two piece punk-rap outfit are known for fusing grime, punk and rap-rock, with lyrics confronting systemic racism, inequality, and political incompetence.

Shambala bills itself as “the most fiercely independent, seriously silly, wildly creative and radically sustainable” festival – a space for music, art, activism, community, and freedom of expression. It is no question that Bob Vylan’s refusal to play by mainstream music industry rules will align with the ethos of independence and counter culture at Shambala.

However Bob Vylan have faced a considerable amount of controversy this year. Their performance at Glastonbury included chants referencing the Israeli military – resulting in condemnation from right-wing media outlets, a police review, and revoked visas in the US. Their readiness to push boundaries makes them a “risky” headliner in the eyes of the British press, however reactions on social media have been overwhelmingly positive so far. For many festival-goers, especially the more socially conscious attendees, it would be a rare chance to experience a headline act that doesn’t just entertain, but demands attention.

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Shambala’s choice to book Bob Vylan, potentially as a headline, signals ambition: to evolve beyond comfort-zone programming and to underline the festival’s identity as rebellious, independent, socially-engaged. It suggests that Shambala wants to challenge narrative spread by the mainstream British press, and show to other festival organisers the importance of showing integrity and solidarity to the industry, even when it is under attack.

In the meantimne, as part of their “We Won’t Go Quietly Tour”, Bob Vylan currently have several dates scheduled across the UK and Ireland. For late 2025, they will play:

• O2 Institute Birmingham on Thursday December 4 2025. 

Due to recent controversy and pressure, two previously scheduled northern-England shows have been postponed and rescheduled for early 2026:

• Manchester Academy – now set for Thursday February 5 2026. 
• O2 Academy Leeds – rescheduled for Saturday February 7 2026. 

At the moment, the band say all other dates on the tour remain on track – and that tickets originally purchased for the postponed shows remain valid.

The planned venue has declared this comes as a direct result of comments made by the band’s frontman, Bobby Vylan, in regards to the recent death of right-wing American activist, Charlie Kirk. During their Paradiso performance, Bobby Vylan referred to Charlie Kirk – shot and killed three days prior in Utah – as “an absolute piece of s*** of a human being”, adding “The pronouns was/were. ‘Cause if you chat s*** you will get banged. Rest in piss, Charlie Kirk”. Within the preceding 48 hours, Tilburg’s 013 removed Bob Vylan from their upcoming events schedule.

The venue itself, in tone with its renowned reputation in preserving and replenishing the local cultural climate, acknowledge that punk and political activism exist as a test of boundaries. However, in this case, Bob Vylan has gone ‘too far’ in the eyes of 013, ultimately prompting the venue to believe Bob Vylan no longer encompasses the scope of what the venue seeks to offer as a musical platform.

Boby Vylan, for their involvement, has published a responding video statement on X, specifically rejecting the fact that their concert was labelled as a ‘celebration’ of Charlie Kirk’s death. In the video, Bobby Vylan makes an effort to differentiate his criticism of a public figure with a confused message for applauding violence, stating, “At no point was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated… If it was, go find me a quote… you’re not gonna find it”.

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This is not the first time the band has suffered direct cancellations following controversial comments. Earlier this year, Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance and the chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ prompted a police investigation, and their US visas were revoked.

Bob Vylan have built their musical reputation upon their stance as fiercely independent artists, adamant on releasing music free of major-label control in an attempt to speak directly to fans. However, in a run of cancellation and controversy, the Tilburg’s cancellation could demand further venue losses.

For venues and promoters, the band is increasingly associating itself with a career built on friction. Smaller venues like Tilburg’s 013 demonstrate the risk that middle-ground inhabitants occupy, caught between promoting musical activism and safeguarding their patrons, audience, and reputation.

The rap-punk band stole all the attention on Glastonbury weekend. Whilst everyone was talking about Kneecap going into the festival, it was Bob Vylan who led the crowd into chants of “Death, death to the IDF”, leading to politicians and media calling the duo out.

The aftermath of the gig led to a criminal investigation, shows being cancelled, and their US visas being revoked. Frontman Bobby Vylan then urged fans to stop the chant at the bands first show since Glastonbury, saying they’ll “get him into even more trouble”.

Blur and Gorillaz frontman, Damon Albarn, then had his say on the situation. In a new interview with The Times, Albarn said: “It was one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life. Especially when he started to goose-step in tennis gear. I mean I’ve had my moments – not quite as catastrophic as that but you do get carried away. The old testosterone gets you going. But it’s unfortunate. Everyone’s just so hysterical.”

Bobby Vylan didn’t take long to respond to Albarn, posting to Twitter/X last night (July 16): “A little help for any other out of touch ’90’s musician asked about Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.

“Your response should probably resemble something to the affect of: ‘Over 58k Palestinians killed since Oct 7th 2023. Over 700 killed while attempting to get aid. Over 1400 medical workers killed since Oct 7th.

“Genocide is being live streamed for all to see and the UK is not simply allowing it to continue but facilitating it, along with the United States. Why are we talking about a punk band? End.”

1/2. A little help for any other out of touch 90s musician asked about Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. Your response should probably resemble something to the affect of:
“Over 58k Palestinians killed since Oct 7th 2023.
Over 700 killed while attempting to get aid…

— Bob Vylan (@BobbyVylan) July 16, 2025

Despite the claims from Vylan of Albarn being “out of touch”, the Blur frontman has repeatedly expressed a similar level of support for Palestine, even in the same interview with The Times, where he said: “Part of the huge issue of Palestine is the way their identity is being eroded so brutally.

“I’ve been doing this a very long time and I still haven’t got the bloody answers. You want to say what you believe in and what you feel. That’s important, but it comes with huge caveats. We live and learn, or not.”

The controversial Bob Vylan performance was streamed live on BBC iPlayer which led to much criticism aimed at the broadcasting company.

The Chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, responded to the problems facing the company by declaring that actions will be taken to stop such future performances from being broadcast, saying: “The BBC Board met on Thursday to hear what actions will now be taken. The Executive have agreed to put in place a set of strengthened editorial practices and policies for live music programming. These will be important measures to safeguard future live broadcasts from a failure such as this.”

Despite all the criticism Bob Vylan have faced, they have also found support from many of their peers. The likes of Massive Attack, Soft Play and Amyl And The Sniffers have shown solidarity with the punk-rap duo. Check out full mxdwn.co.uk coverage of the controversial performance here.

The punk duo took to the stage at Worthy Farm last Saturday (June 28) in a performance broadcast live on iPlayer as part of BBC’s extensive Glastonbury coverage.

Throughout the gig they voiced their support for Palestine, whilst calling out the BBC, Israel and the US and UK governments. A message was projected onto the screen reading “Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘conflict’”.

Frontman Bobby Vylan then led the crowd into chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”.

The controversial set led to the band being dropped by their agent, United Talent Agency (UTA), as well as having their US visas revoked and their actions described by US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, as a “hateful tirade”.

The BBC has now come out and responded to criticism labelled at the broadcasting company by politicians and media alike – most notably Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy saying that the BBC’s decision to stream the performance shows a “problem of leadership”.

Samir Shah, Chair of the BBC, shared a new statement, clarifying the action BBC will take: “This was unquestionably an error of judgement. I was very pleased to note that as soon as this came to the notice of Tim Davie (Director General of the BBC)… he took immediate action and instructed the team to withdraw the performance from on demand coverage.

“The BBC Board met on Tuesday to hear what actions will now be taken. The Executive have agreed to put in place a set of strengthened editorial practices and policies for live music programming.  These will be important measures to safeguard future live broadcasts from a failure such as this.”

Despite the criticism from both the UK and US Governments, the BBC and even the Glastonbury organisers – many artists have come out to voice their support for Bob Vylan.

Trip Hop icons and loyal activists, Massive Attack, shared a statement where they urged the media to focus on “what is happening daily to the people of Gaza” rather than on the artists speaking out.

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Other bands to show support include Lambrini Girls, Amyl And The Sniffers and Soft Play. The latter posted on social media, saying: “Again, the media is trying to distract you from the real story. The outrage sparked is merely a smoke screen for the lack of reporting on the destruction of the Palestinian people. They are starving children, where is the media’s outrage at Israel’s continued obliteration of a whole nation?”

Despite facing cancellations from festivals including Manchester’s Radar Festival, Bob Vylan still intend to tour with dates coming up in Ireland in August. You can find tickets for their shows here.

Both artists performed on Saturday afternoon (June 28), playing back-to-back sets on the West Holts stage.

Bob Vylan came on first, with a set that saw frontman Bobby Vylan speak out in solidarity with bands that “use their platform to speak up for the Palestinian people”, mentioning Kneecap, Amyl & The Sniffers and The Murder Capital.

@gbnews Punk band Bob Vylan have sparked uproar after they used their Glastonbury set to leads chants of “Death to the IDF” and “Free, Free Palestine”. The group also expressed solidarity with Irish rap trio Kneecap, who were scheduled to perform 30 minutes after them on the West Holts stage, after it was confirmed the BBC would not be broadcasting their set live. #Glastonbury #BobVylan #Israel #Gaza #BBC #GBNews ♬ original sound – GB News

During their set, the crowd started a chant of “free, free Palestine”. In response, Bobby asked, “Have you heard this one?”, before leading a new chant saying “death, death to the IDF”, in reference to the Israeli Defense Forces, the armed forces of Israel who are currently part of the war in Gaza.

Kneecap’s set saw them take aim at their critics and opposition, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Sharon Osbourne. While onstage, they thanked Glastonbury for keeping them on the bill and told the crowd that the “prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play”, referring to Starmer.

They also touched on the ongoing war in Gaza, with Mo Chara saying “We understand colonialism and we understand how important it is to support each other internationally.” He then led the crowd into another chant of “free, free Palestine” after accusing Israel of genocide.

@.thebasementpeople Roll on Finsbury Park #fyp #glastonbury #glasto2025 #kneecap ♬ original sound – The Basement People

Since both politically charged performances, Avon and Somerset Police have said they will be investigating both sets from Bob Vylan and Kneecap. On social media, they posted: “We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”

We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon.

Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation. pic.twitter.com/w2RQ4LdQf3

— Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) June 28, 2025

Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, has ordered Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, to explain why the performance by Bob Vylan was streamed on iPlayer. Prior to Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury, she voiced her opposition to their inclusion on the bill during an episode of Politics Live, saying “This is a band that has thrived on the oxygen of publicity”.

In response to the controversy around Bob Vylan’s onstage comments, a BBC spokesperson has said that their set, which was livestreamed on iPlayer, won’t be available on demand: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive,” they told the Independent.

A government spokesperson has also provided a statement against Vylan’s controversial crowd chant: “We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.

“The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.”

It’s been an exciting weekend of music at Glastonbury 2025. As well as standout sets from headliners like Olivia Rodrigo and The 1975, there were a number of secret sets that took place. Click to read our coverage on sets from Skepta, Lorde and Lewis Capaldi.

The festival should see its usual array of storytelling, circus acts, actors and arts at this year’s festival with its incredible set design and production. Boomtown has won many awards including UK Festival Awards “Best Festival Production” in both 2022 and 2023, as well as “Transport Impact Innovators” in 2023. Boomtown was also picked as Major Events Summit’s “Best Non-Sporting Event” in 2023. It was also named by BBC Radio 1 as “Best Dance Festival UK & Europe” in 2023.

Boomtown is known for its quirky and extravagant production and stage design with there being eight distinct city districts with 12 main stages as well as over 50 hidden venues along with thousands of live performers and actors.

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Reggae royalty Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley is set to take the stage at Grand Central this year as well as 90s hip-hop legends The Pharcyde. 2023 Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective will also be bringing some jazz to this year’s edition of the festival. Swedish punk outfit Viagra boys are also playing Grand Central as well as internet sensation Marc Rebillet.

Kent duo Soft Play are set make an appearance on the Saturday (August 10) fresh of the back of the release of their newest album ‘Heavy Jelly’ which is their highest charting album yet reaching number 3 on the UK Album Charts. London based neo-soul singer Greentea peng is also going to play a set on Grand Central.

Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan are set to play as they are sure to bring the political themes to the festival as they partner up with Bristol producer Grove to perform on Grand Central. As well as this post-punk duo Sleaford Mods will be playing, showing the diversity of the festival and that it is not just all Drum and Bass.

Moving onto the Origin stage we are going to see Flava D, D&B trio Kings of The Rollers with Inja and P Money play the legendary stage on the Friday. 4AM Kru are sure to bring the energy on Saturday along with Simula and Sota expected to play some memorable Drum and Bass sets. On The last day we will see the icons that are Jungle Cakes take the stage with Ed Solo, Deekline, Benny Page, and Serial Killaz performing a back-to-back. Bou and Pendulum are also billed to perform on Origin.

Among the 100s of other performances across the various stages we will also see the likes of Hak Baker, grime legend D Double E, and Ross From Friends under the moniker Bubble Love. The Wrong Side of The Tracks stage will have Sully, Neff-T, Oppidan, Silva Bumpa, Aries and many more. TikTok sensation Fish56Octogan is also expected to make an appearance at Boomtown at Spectrum 360 as well as Samurai Breaks and Bish.

The festival, which is set to run from 23 May to 26 May 2024, will also welcome Nottingham based grim duo Sleaford Mods, London based grime-punk duo Bob Vylan, and American synth pop group Future Islands. Other acts scheduled to appear include festival favourites Gentleman’s Dub Club, electronic music duo Orbital, Bradford post-punk outfit New Model Army and Dutch indie rock group Pip Blom.

Next year will be the festival’s 15th year, and is set to showcase the remarkable transition from its humble beginnings in 2008 to becoming one of Britain’s most loved music festivals, with Bearded Theory being shortlisted for Best Medium-Sized Festival at the UK Festival Awards this year.

This year’s edition of Bearded Theory saw the introduction of two brand new stages, Big Ed and the Meadow Stage, playing host to bands such as Echo And The Bunnymen and Viagra Boys. These two stages are set to return in 2024.

Festival organiser Ben Ryles has said, “We’re very excited to have two of our favourite alt-rock heroes choosing Bearded Theory as their only UK festival for the year. We also can’t wait to welcome Amyl and the Sniffers and Future Islands, who are so widely renowned for their incredible live shows, as well as festival favourites Sleaford Mods and electronic icons Orbital.”

He continued, “Across this first batch of almost 50 acts there are fast-rising artists at the forefront of their scenes, legendary performers, and plenty of Bearded Theory crowd-pleasers. We’re really pleased to finally reveal them and get the countdown on to the start of the festival season.”

Watch the music video for “Nudge It” by Sleaford Mods, featuring Amy Taylor from Amyl And The Sniffers, below:

With this announcement, almost 50 acts have been confirmed, and there is yet more to come. Other bands that are set to feature at next year’s event include: Ibibio Sound Machine, Jane Weaver, Panic Shack, Jim Bob, Peat & Diesel, Beans on Toast, His Lordship, Divorce, Sprints, Green lung, English Teacher, BDRMM, Big Special, Bis, Roni Size, The Orb, 808 State, System 7, Utah Saints, The March Violets, The Bar Stool Preachers, Hotwax, Trout, Katie Malco, Girl Scout, Liines, Problem Patterns, 3 Daft Monkeys, Spunge and Sonic Boom Six.

Tickets for Bearded Theory 2024 are available to purchase here.

The ‘Ban Bob Vylan’ tour, which was supposed to commence on May 12th in Boston and was set to span both the USA and Canada, and would have seen the all-female grunge/sludge/punk New York outfit Jigsaw Youth accompany them, would have been the duo’s first tour outside of the UK.

Unfortunately the America & Canada tour has been pulled due to visa issues. These things happen, it’s incredibly frustrating but there is nothing we can do at the moment. Apologies to everyone that bought tickets to see us out there with @jigsawyouthband hopefully see you soon.

— Bob Vylan (@BobbyVylan) May 2, 2023

Sadly though, Bob Vylan become yet another victim of the ever-increasingly difficult US visa processing system. Already a long, complicated and expensive process (that perhaps holds a political bias against certain acts, particularly in this case given Bob Vylan’s politically charged lyrics are at the forefront of their music), getting into the US as a non-US musician will very soon be even tougher with the announcement earlier this year that the US Department of Homeland Security plans to increase the cost of a special music visa by 250%, with the “P” visa jumping from £375 per person to a staggering £1317 per person.

The #LetTheMusicMove campaign, initially started by the Music Managers Forum and the Featured Artists Coalition in order to combat increasing tour costs due to post-brexit visa costs, has now shifted its attention to the ugly US visa price hike, with groups such as New Order, Idles and Primal Scream, to name a few, voicing their disdain for the proposed changes.

Fresh off the back of a hugely successful 2022, in which their second album, Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life, was released and capped off with winning the first ever Best Alternative Music Act award at the MOBOs in December, Bob Vylan would have undoubtedly been looking to continue their proliferating momentum with this unprecedented North American tour, introducing their wholly unique style, which incorporates hard-hitting social and political commentary with the merging of grime rap with punk rock, to the American and Canadian masses for the first time.

Watch the music video for “We Live Here” below:

While the British response to the rise of Bob Vylan in the very recent past has been a spectacularly positive one (drawing huge crowds at festivals they play and seeing their second album slot straight in to number 18 in the UK Albums Chart upon its release), the reaction from across the pond is largely yet to witnessed.

Given Afro-punk’s popularity in North America, however, with bands such as Bad Brains and Rage Against the Machine achieving success in the aforementioned alternative genre, Bob Vylan will surely be welcomed with open arms in the punk community stateside when they are eventually allowed to play there, particularly given how some of Bob Vylan’s favourite topics (police brutality, racism and income inequality) will no doubt resonate well with those who believe that said issues are strongly present in Canadian and, perhaps more so, American society.

In pictures: All the action from the Kerrang! Awards 2022 https://t.co/Vaqajwcyfz pic.twitter.com/V0GBDFIr2j

— Kerrang! (@KerrangMagazine) June 24, 2022

The Kerrang! Awards have remained a staple for any music fan and were founded by the alternative music publication in 1994. Since its formation, the ceremony and its various accolades have become notable recognitions, garnering respect for any act. This year’s annual music show was presented by comedian Ed Gamble and consisted of fourteen award categories, nine of which are voted by a fan poll.

Luke Morton, Kerrang! Editor has given the following statement, “The alternative music scene is more exciting than ever in 2022, and this year’s Kerrang! Awards underlines our commitment to supporting new music and championing the underdogs. I’m so proud to introduce three new categories that strike at the heart of the underground and the alternative community, while also recognising the stadium-conquering legends who have paved the way and make the alt. scene the most inspiring place to be right now. Our world is alive with positive change – get on board.”

The Icon Award presented by Marshall remains one of the ceremony’s most coveted awards, this year the prestigious accolade was awarded to Green Day. The American punk veterans were presented the award for their long and historic career, the East Bay-formed trio have been releasing hits since their formation in 1987. Another esteemed American band were honoured during the ceremony, Fall Out Boy were given the Inspiration Award. Influential rockers Weezer also won big at the awards, the “Buddy Holly” hitmakers were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame.

This year’s winners consisted of several British acts, Bring Me the Horizon won Best Song for their single “Die4u”. The group are no stranger to the alt-rock music awards, the band have won eight accolades at the Kerrang! Awards, they first won The Best British Newcomer in 2006. The Best British Act award presented by Dead Man’s Fingers Rum was scooped by Biffy Clyro, the Scottish rockers beat out Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes, Venom Prison, Neck Deep and Loathe to claim the award.

 

 

 

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Presented by Music Venue Trust, Best Live Act was awarded to Twenty One Pilots, the band took to the stage to accept the award just before a scheduled performance at London O2 Academy Brixton. London-formed rock duo Nova Twins are crowned this year’s Best British Breakthrough presented by MEATliquor, the group’s most recent album Supernova was released this month and placed high within the UK album charts.

This year also saw the induction of new categories, the New Noise Award presented by Dr Martins, The Disputer Award and the Grassroots Award. The New Noise accolade was created to celebrate the Grassroots music scene and acknowledge up-and-coming bands who show tremendous promise, this year it was awarded to WARGASM. Trap artist Mimi Barks was given The Disruptor Award, the singer recently released the single DEADGIRL last month to much applause. Inspiring figure Janey Starling was the receiver of The Grassroots Award, the activist is the co-director of the renowned feminist organisation Level-Up and has led many other successful campaigns.

Full List of 2022 Winners

Kerrang! Icon Presented by Marshall – Green Day
Best Live Act Presented by Music Venue Trust – Twenty One Pilots
New Noise Award Presented by Dr. Martin – WARGASM
Best International Breakthrough presented by Blinding Talent – Amyl And The Sniffers
The Disruptor Award – Mimi Barks
Kerrang! Hall Of Fame – Weezer
Best Album – Bob Vylan – Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life
Grassroots Award – Janey Starling
Best British Breakthrough presented by MEATliquor – Nova Twins
Best Festival presented by Strongbow Ultra – Download Pilot
Best British Act presented by Dead Man’s Fingers Rum – Biffy Clyro
Best International Act – Poppy
Best Song – Bring Me The Horizon – “DiE4u”
Kerrang! Inspiration Award –  Fall Out Boy

Both Kid Kapichi and Bob Vylan are rising stars in the industry at the moment. Kid Kapichi come from Hastings and consist of four members; vocalist/guitarists Jack Wilson and Ben Beetham, as well as Eddie Lewis on bass and George Macdonald on drums. Their debut album, This Time Next Year, was released last February and received strong reviews from NME and Gigwise. Later this year they plan to be embarking on their biggest headline show yet at London’s Electric Ballroom in May, as well as other dates throughout the year, such as at the Kendal Calling and 2000trees festivals.

Bob Vylan have been described by Kerrang as “the most exciting and important punk band in the UK“. They have a new album soon to be released as well, due out on April 22^nd. The 14-track release has a projected title of Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life, and will follow last November’s single “GDP“, a song that was about “racism, class [and] social struggles“.

The duo also has some experience with live shows, having supported the likes of Biffy Clyro and The Offspring, which is useful considering they’ll be embarking on a 13-date UK headline tour next May-June. On this matter, the band said that “We’ve loved supporting various bands this year and we want to take this energy into 2022 with our own headline tour and continue connecting with people“.

If you’re excited about Kid Kapichi’s upcoming shows over this year then you can look here for ticket details. As for Bob Vylan’s new album, you can pre-order here. Information on their May-June tour can be found here.