Bob Vylan have had their upcoming concert in Tilburg, Netherlands, cancelled following controversial comments made during their recent Amsterdam performance.
As per Rolling Stone, the UK punk-rap duo’s show at Poppodium 013, scheduled for September 16th, was axed after the venue deemed their remarks had “clearly crossed a line.”
During their performance at Club Paradiso in Amsterdam, frontman Bobby Vylan repeated the “Death, death to the IDF” chant that previously sparked controversy at Glastonbury earlier this summer. According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraf, Vylan also stated, “Fuck the fascists, fuck the Zionists. Go find them in the streets.”
The band also addressed the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of shit of a human being,” Vylan said. “The pronouns: was/were. Cause if you chat shit, you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit.”
Poppodium 013’s decision to cancel the show appears to have been primarily influenced by Vylan’s “go find them in the streets” comment, though his statement regarding Kirk’s killing may have also played a role. The venue released a statement explaining their position: “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 in the streets.'”
The venue acknowledged the context of punk and activism but maintained that the statements exceeded acceptable boundaries. “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,” the statement continued.
Poppodium 013 had initially decided to proceed with the concert despite calls for cancellation following Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury controversy. The venue expressed understanding for the artist’s anger regarding the situation in Gaza while clarifying that the words were not their own.
Bobby Vylan responded to the latest controversy via Instagram, specifically addressing media characterisations of his comments about Kirk’s death. “At no point during yesterday’s show was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated,” he stated. “At no point whatsoever did we celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death. I did call him a piece of shit, that much is true. But at no point was his death celebrated.”
