Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap had a number of upcoming shows in Germany canceled amid continued fallout and accusations of antisemitism from the band’s controversial Coachella performance.
German festivals Hurricane and Southside, both of which are organized by FKP Scorpio, removed Kneecap from the music lineups following the Indio-based Coachella set. On April 25, the band confirmed on X that they would no longer be playing at the respective festivals, but still listed links for shows in Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg which were set for September. However, as of Wednesday, the links to ticket seller site Evintim.de note that those events have since been canceled as well.
The music trio (made up of DJ Próvaí, Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap) responded to the canceled tour dates in Germany by saying that the reaction to their pro-Palestine and anti-Israel Coachella set is “not about us,” but is a “loud warning to other acts to say silent.”
In a post shared to X on Wednesday, the band wrote, “It’s about distraction and a loud warning to other acts to stay silent or we will try silence you.”
The caption on the clip reads, “Let’s not lose sight of why the entire political class of Britain and their media are so ‘outraged’ about Kneecap and have no outrage for a mass slaughter of children. You can not tell the truth at Coachella.’
The band also quote tweeted a supportive post from British band Massive Attack, which said, “Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story.”
The group first made waves during the first weekend of Coachella in early April when rapper Mo Chara told the Coachella crowd, “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the f—king skies with nowhere to go. The Palestinians have nowhere to go.” Chara then led the crowd in “Free Palestine” chants. Projections on the screen behind the group read “Fuck Israel. Free Palestine” along with another screen that accused Israel of “committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
Since their Coachella show, the band has been dropped by their booking agency Independent Artist Group and been blasted by Jewish groups in the music industry, such as the Creative Community for Peace. Some called for the band’s US visa to be revoked.
UK counter-terrorism authorities are investigating footage from past concerts in 2024 and 2023, including one in which a member of the group allegedly urged the audience to “kill your local MP [member of parliament],” and said, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory.”
On Monday, Kneecap shared a lengthy statement to Instagram in which they wrote that they “reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever.”
They also have denied being antisemitic, writing in their IG statement, “We do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah” and said that footage from their past concerts is being “taken out of all context” and is being “weaponized.”
However, activists on social media have surfaced concert video in which the group chanted: “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah.”
The hip-hop trio formed in Belfast in 2017.
