Kneecap announce Plymouth gig after being dropped from Eden Sessions amid ongoing backlash
Kneecap have been dropped from the Eden Sessions, but will now play a concert in Plymouth, despite calls for the band to be cancelled.
Kneecap announced a concert in Plymouth - an hour after their Cornish festival gig was axed in the wake of the continued backlash against the band.
The Irish rap trio - comprising Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí - had their Eden Sessions concert at Cornwall's Eden Project on July 4 pulled at 5.03pm on Tuesday (29.04.25), but 66 minutes later, at 6.09pm, news of a concert at Plymouth Pavilions on the same day was shared by the band.
The Eden Sessions shared the statement: "Eden Sessions Limited announced today that the Kneecap show at Eden Project scheduled for 4 July 2025 has been cancelled.
"Ticket purchasers will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded. The refund process will commence from Wednesday 30 April 2025. Refunds will be processed against the original payment cards used. Purchasers should allow six working days for funds to be received into their accounts."
Kneecap followed up with the news: "Plymouth, we will be in your Pavilions on Friday July 4th.
"Tickets are on sale Friday 2nd May at 11am. Our show at Eden Sessions is cancelled. Ticket purchasers will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded."
However, the venue has received a backlash for hosting Kneecap.
One social media user commented: "Need to have a word with yourself having them playing."
Kneecap courted controversy after they ended their performance at Coachella in Indio, California with a 'Free Palestine' message as they criticised the US government's funding of Israel's ongoing attacks.
They had their message cut from the livestream of their performance, but the live show itself featured a projection which read: "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F*** Israel Free Palestine."
This led to music mogul Sharon Osbourne calling for the band to have their right to enter the US revoked for "incorporating aggressive political statements,” which they denied.
Since then, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned after one of the rap group’s members seemingly called for Tory MPs to be killed in resurfaced footage.
Kneecap later issued an apology to the families of murdered MPs but claimed the footage had been “exploited and weaponised”.
The band said they “reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual."
They insisted: “Kneecap’s message has always been – and remains – one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs. No smear campaign will change that."
At the time of writing, Kneecap are still on the bill for Glastonbury in June.
