Another Bob Vylan Show Canceled Over Israel Remarks, Band Denies “Celebrating” Charlie Kirk’s Death
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella
This year the UK punk-rap duo Bob Vylan have proven to be among the most politically outspoken musical artists in the world, in ways that have led career repercussions. At England’s gargantuan Glastonbury festival in June, the pair led a “Death to the IDF!” chant in protest of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Palestine, leading to a condemnation from Glasto, the band’s removal from some other festival lineups and tour dates, and the revocation of their US visas. Though they shut down the crowd’s “Death to the IDF!” chant at their first show after Glastonbury, they have not backed down on their vocal criticism of Israel. So it is perhaps unsurprising that they’ve also become participants in the Charlie Kirk discourse.
Kirk, the young right-wing organizer and media personality, was assassinated during a public speaking engagement in Utah on Thursday. Some responses from the music world have been sympathetic. On Friday in London, Coldplay’s Chris Martin suggested fans “send love” to Kirk’s family. On the same night, Morgan Wallen dedicated “I’m A Little Crazy” to Kirk’s widow at his Edmonton concert. Bob Vylan had a more scathing take. On Saturday, during a sold-out show at Amsterdam’s Club Paradiso, frontman Bobby Vylan dedicated a song to Kirk himself: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of shit of a human being. The pronouns: was/were. ‘Cause if you talk shit, you will get banged. Rest in piss Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit.”
@god_is_not.real Bob Vylan dedicated a song to Charlie Kirk. Vylan: "I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of shit of a human being. Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit."
Some reports characterized the comments as “celebrating” Kirk’s death, a notion Bobby Vylan has denied in a video response.
But it was Bobby’s comments about the genocide in Gaza that have led the Tilburg club Poppodium 013 to cancel their show scheduled for Tuesday night. In Amsterdam, Bob Vylan brought back the “Death to the IDF!” chant:
Amsterdam, Paradiso.
“Death to the IDF”
“Fuck the Zionist. Go find them in the streets”
No action of the Mayor of Amsterdam, Public Prosecutor or Minister. All silent.
Total anarchy in The Netherlands
Arrest him and send him out of the country now! #BobVylan pic.twitter.com/S96PgtdeKd
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) September 14, 2025
And De Telegraaf reported that they also said, “Fuck the fascists, fuck the Zionists. Go find them in the streets.” Paradiso released a statement on their website:
On Saturday, September 13, during his performance at Paradiso, artist Bob Vylan made statements that many experienced as harsh and offensive.
Paradiso believes in the power of artistic freedom. Music, and punk in particular, has traditionally been a form of art that amplifies anger, discontent, and injustice without filter. In a world on fire, artists sometimes choose language that sounds confrontational or violent. That is part of artistic expression, but not automatically language that we as a venue endorse.
Paradiso shares the outrage and concern regarding the genocidal violence taking place in Gaza. That Bob Vylan raises his voice against it is legitimate and necessary. Should the Openbaar Ministerie (public prosecution service) wish to investigate whether any criminal offenses have been committed, Paradiso will cooperate.
And Poppodium 013 has a statement about why it thinks Bob Vylan went “too far” this time. Here it is, translated into English:
The planned performance by British rap-punk group Bob Vylan on Tuesday, September 16th at Poppodium 013 in Tilburg has been canceled. The reason for the cancellation is the controversial statements the artist made last night during a show at Paradiso in Amsterdam.
Despite the controversy that arose after their Glastonbury performance, 013 decided to let Bob Vylan perform in Tilburg. The venue expressed its understanding for the artist’s anger regarding the genocidal violence perpetrated by the State of Israel in Gaza, a situation that deserves our full attention, even though his words were not our own. We still share that shock and outrage. Moreover, Bob Vylan clarified in his own statement that his earlier statement “death to the IDF” was not an antisemitic slogan, but rather criticism of the Israeli army.
013 wanted to send a message that Gaza deserves full attention and that outrage about it deserves a place on stage. We still stand by that. However, we believe the statements Bob Vylan made last night at Paradiso clearly cross a line. We strongly reject the trivialization of political murder and the call to “go look for people on the streets.”
While we understand that the statements were made in the context of punk and activism, and that the reporting on them is sometimes less nuanced than what actually happened, we nevertheless believe that these new statements go too far. They no longer fall within the boundaries of what we can offer a stage.
