Trump has again raised the idea of the US taking control of Greenland, arguing that the Arctic island is important for security and strategic reasons. The latest remarks echo his 2019 push to explore buying Greenland from Denmark, which at the time was dismissed by Copenhagen as “absurd” and led to a diplomatic spat after Trump cancelled a state visit.​

In recent days, the rhetoric has sharpened. Katie Miller, wife of senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted an image of Greenland covered by a US flag and captioned “SOON” on social media, prompting outrage in Denmark and Greenland. Trump has meanwhile tapped Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy tasked with advancing US interests over the territory, a move critics describe as a political escalation.

Into this escalating geopolitical dispute, Björk has added a cultural and moral intervention, using her platform to spotlight Greenland’s long colonial history and present-day inequalities. In her Instagram note, she sends “blessings” to Greenlanders “in their fight for independence” and explicitly connects their struggle to Iceland’s own decision to break from Danish rule in 1944, saying Icelanders are “extremely relieved” they preserved their language and sovereignty.​

Björk also references historic and recent Danish policies towards Greenlanders, including reports of a state-backed IUD programme affecting Greenlandic women and girls in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and contemporary child welfare cases that campaigners say disproportionately target Greenlandic families. She characterises the current moment as a choice between continued subordination within the Danish kingdom and the risk of a shift to US control, which she frames as continuations of colonial dynamics.

Björk’s intervention lands in a music culture that is increasingly attuned to Indigenous rights, climate justice and the politics of land and extraction. Greenland’s own musicians have long folded themes of language, environment and autonomy into everything from indie releases to throat‑singing, and the renewed independence debate is likely to intensify that creative focus.

Denmark and Greenland have responded in unusually direct terms. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has urged Trump to “stop the threats” and underlined that Greenland is “not for sale” and cannot be annexed under international law. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has voiced measured concern over the escalating rhetoric surrounding Greenland, emphasising the importance of respecting Denmark’s sovereignty as a key NATO ally. Speaking with the BBC,  Starmer said, “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland, and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark”. 

In an interview aboard the Air Force One, Trump said “the EU needs us to have [Greenland], and they know that”. In response, Paul Pinho, European Commission chief spokesperson, stated it is “certainly not” their position.

Soldier Field in Chicago will welcome Oasis back to the US for the first time since 2008, a monumental occasion, a chance for Americans and Oasis to eternally bandage a relationship that has been turbulent to say the least. It therefore seems  fitting that it should commence in the ‘Windy City…’

Speaking to Photographer Jill Furmanovsky in 2023, Noel Gallagher explained why Oasis may have never cracked America like they did in other places: “I mean, I think that’s the reason we’ve never really had a number one album in America – they wouldn’t go the extra mile for us because we wouldn’t go the extra mile for them.”

“That’s why we’ve never been nominated for a GRAMMY,  you’ve got to do all that stuff over there, you’ve got to kind of fake it a little bit and we just we couldn’t do it which is why we’d always stall at number two.”

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Ironically one of Oasis’ most famous blunders in America was when Liam Gallagher decided not to board their plane to the US in 1996, instead he went house-hunting in London with then girlfriend Patsy Kensit. Due to this he missed dates at the start of the tour, the first being Chicago, Noel was furious and so was America, this was one act of ignorance that people never really forgot.

During their very first parade around The States in 1994, Oasis played a drugged up, mess of a gig at the Whisky A GO GO, fans would witness the band singing different songs at the same time followed by Liam launching a tambourine at his brothers head head on stage. This led to Noel quitting the band temporarily, an event that would become all too familiar in the years to come.

Despite this, Oasis announced a mammoth North American leg of ‘Oasis Live 25’ along with the statement: “Oasis is coming, you have one last chance to prove you loved us all along.” Before this tour their biggest gig over the pond had likely around 20,000 in attendance. Tonight they kick off a tour that includes two nights at the MetLife stadium, of which the capacity is over 80,000.  This isn’t quite ‘Beatlemania’ but it’s an astonishing feat, considering the past.

Ironically, one of Oasis’ most famous blunders in America was when Liam Gallagher decided not to board their plane to the US in 1996, instead he went house-hunting in London with then girlfriend Patsy Kensit. Due to this he missed the first few dates of the tour, the first being Chicago, Noel was furious and so was America. 

During their very first parade around The States in 1994, Oasis played a drugged up, mess of a gig at the Whisky A GO GO, fans would witness Liam launch a tambourine at his brothers head on stage. This led to Noel quitting the band temporarily, an event that would become a broken record over the years, but ‘soldier on’ he did.

Despite these events, Oasis announced a mammoth North American leg of ‘Oasis Live 25’ last year, saying “Oasis is coming, you have one last chance to prove you loved us all along.” Before this tour their biggest gig over the pond had  around 20,000 in attendance. Tonight, they kick off a tour that includes two nights at the MetLife stadium, of which the capacity is over 80,000.  This isn’t quite ‘Beatlemania’. For context The Beatles once had 40% of the American population (73 million people) watching them perform live at the same time. It’s an astonishing feat, considering the past and that very few have got remotely close to The Beatles .

Fans in America and Chicago are excited for the gig, they’re even queuing down the street to get into the pop-up shop. This is a huge testament to the band swallowing their arrogance and working on their American image during the 2000s. This can be seen with album successes too. The band literally became more popular as the years went on… penultimate album “Don’t Believe The Truth” debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200, 3 years later they would do as well as #5 with “Dig Out Your Soul.” 

It felt like Oasis and the USA had just begun to understand each other when the band came to an end, this week they will seek to put things right. America have done their part, the shows are sold out and the great wait is over.

Are Oasis really familiar to millions? Can they prove themselves truly worthy of legendary status and get this ‘monkey off their back’?

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.

Probably consumed by the mountain of work ahead of them, they hiccuped when posting the dates on their website by dating the gigs in 2022 instead of 2023. So, bare that in mind if checking for their assigned days on their page.

Picking up again on the 24th of March, the band will be flying off to carry out another 22 gigs in Australian, New Zealand and US soil. A lot of Canadians weren’t too happy with the new dates. They were expecting to be granted a visit from the British rock twisters and have expressed their dismay via Black Midi’s social media.

From the 24th to the 26th March the band will be visiting Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand, of which one of them is already sold out. Following after this, from the 28th March to the 2nd April they will be playing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in Australia, already partly sold out.

Trailing after, they will be making their way to the US on the 8th of June to play in 15 different American cities. Starting off in Philadelphia and finishing off in Boston on the 8th of July, 2023. Once finished in the US they will round up the tour by an added three gigs in the UK playing at Latitude Festival on the 23rd July, We Out Here Festival on the 11th August, All Points East on the 25th August and a, fairly random, gig in Spain, Torremolinos on the 24th August.

The band’s last LP release was their third studio album Hellfire in 2022. Ever since their debut album Schlagenheim in 2019, the band have not been short of representing their untiring hell. Through stories and hellbound characters they manage to siv their way around humanity’s nastiest aspects in existence. Playing around with math rock delusions and experimental post-rock madness the band dedicated their songwriting to be almost unplayable live.

Their latest release, however, was Live Fire. An only physically distributed album of their live performance in Primavera Sound, Porto. They interpret Hellfire through a more loosened and cheeky manner compared to the studio recordings. The texture given to the workpiece if a unique feel.

Tickets for all their coming live gigs went live on Friday, 3rd of March.

Click here for tickets.

UK Tour Dates:

23/07/2023 – Latitude Festival – Suffolk
11/08 – We Out Here Festival – Dorset
25/08 – All Points East – London

Roe v. Wade provided women the legal right to terminate a pregnancy in the US and has been in effect for just short of 50 years. On Friday, US justices for the Supreme Court overturned the case, meaning that over half of the states in America will now be able to ban abortion. This will in effect force millions of women into the horrifically compromising decision of having to break the law should they wish to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, and is being seen by many as a shockingly archaic step backwards for a country that considers itself the leader of the free world.

Billie Joe Armstrong responded onstage by saying “Fuck America, I’m fucking renouncing my citizenship. I’m fucking coming here” as quoted by Rolling Stone. He then went on to say “There’s just too much fucking stupid in the world to go back to that miserable fucking excuse for a country. Oh I’m not kidding. You’re going to get a lot of me in the coming days“. Check out the moment below:

#GreenDay #RoeVWade #hellamegatour
billie joe’s statement on roe vs wade at london hella mega tour last night pic.twitter.com/6cJx4oa6I1

— friendly neighborhood clikkie (@armstr0ngtyler) June 25, 2022

In recent days many musicians have taken to the stage protesting the move. With Glastonbury in particular being an obvious hotbed for revolt. In what is already going down as an iconic moment, Olivia Rodrigo invited Lily Allen on stage for a passionately euphoric rendition of Allen’s hit 2009 song “Fuck You”, addressed of course to the 5 justices of the supreme court that overturned Roe v. Wade. With tens of thousands screaming the sentiment back at the tops of their voices, there was overwhelming support in the crowd for what made for a particularly impactful and moving moment at the festival. Others voicing their condemnation of the supreme court included; Phoebe Bridgers, Meghan The Stallion, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, and IDLES to name a few.

You can catch Green Day at their remaining UK shows at Marlay Park in Dublin on June 27 and Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on June 29, and you can get your tickets here.

Glastonbury, never shy to give free speech a microphone, has already seen many of it’s artists use their opportunity onstage to voice their anger and frustration. With Olivia Rodrigo, Lily Allen, Phoebe Bridgers and IDLES already stepping up to the plate, it’s likely that the remainder of the iconic weekend will be smattered with impassioned speeches of protest. Notably Olivia Rodrigo brought Lily Allen on stage for a fervent duet of the British singer songwriter’s 2009 song “Fuck You” addressed specifically to the 5 justices of the Supreme Court. Having invited Allen onstage, Rodrigo addressed the situation by saying “I’m devastated I’m terrified and so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. I wanted to dedicate this song to the five members of the supreme court, who showed us that at the end of the day they truly don’t give a shit about freedom” as reported by the NME. She then introduced the hit song with “This song goes out to the justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barret, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.” You can watch the moment here:

olivia rodrigo: “so many women and so many girls are gonna die because of this” no sugarcoating at all! as it SHOULD BE! and then proceeding to call out the 5 members of the Supreme Court!! pic.twitter.com/rv3R6p39Cu

— caro (@jelousyliv) June 25, 2022

Watching their feverishly brilliant set back on iPlayer, the acclaimed Bristolion band IDLES also made a stand, with frontman Joe Talbot speaking out against the overturning of Roe vs Wade during their performance yesterday on the Park Stage. Dedicating the song “Mother” from their debut album Brutalism to the open minded, Talbot said “Of course, this is for every mother and every woman and her right to choose whether she is a mother or not. Long live the open-minded, long live my mother, and long live every single one of you.”

You can catch all of the performances from Glastonbury 2022 on BBC iPlayer here.

Yorke took to Instagram in a somber and to-the-point note to his supporters saying “Sadly we must cancel our run of dates in the USA for Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. Refunds will be issued, please contact your ticket seller for details.” Yorke’s United Kingdom and European legs of the tour are still scheduled to go ahead in June-July this summer 2021,pending the ongoing spread of the new variants is under control.

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While the tour will be focused around Yorke’s second full length album The Modern Boxes, which was released in 2014, Yorke released his latest solo album ANIMA in the year 2019 the same year it was announced in October that The Modern Boxes Tour would go ahead. The album ANIMA was widely critically acclaimed, receiving multiple Grammy nominations and winning Best Choreography in a Music Video at the UK Music Video Awards in 2019.

In 2020, Yorke collaborated with the artists Four Tet and Burial to release an untitled duo-record with the tracks His Rope and Her Revolution. The tracks were released via underground, vinyl only, however in the last few months of 2020 it was released for streaming. This was the second collaboration with Four Tet and Burial for Yorke, the first was released in 2011, it was another duo-record including the tracks Ego and Mirror.

Thom Yorke Cancelled 2021 USA Tour Dates

9/27 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
10/2 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10/3 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
10/4 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
10/6 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre
10/11 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
10/13 – Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
10/19 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom

STP have been in the spotlight recently after ex-frontman Scott Weiland was fired, and according to public statements he claimed that the band had no right to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots while Bennington was on vocals, saying he was still a part of the band he founded, fronted and co-wrote many hits for despite being fired. The remaining bandmates are now caught in a legal battle with Weiland, filing suit against their former lead singer for breaching the terms of his contract.

On May 19 STP released their new single ‘Out of Time‘ featuring Bennington on their official website. They performed together on May 30 at the MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in California, and will be touring together in September. They will be joined by fellow rockers Filter, as well as heavy metal icons Mötley Crüe.