Electric Picnic boss says Kneecap booking is a “really important statement”
Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn has said the addition of Kneecap to the festival is a “really important statement”.
The Irish festival is set to take place from August 29th to August 31st in County Laois at Stradbally Hall, featuring Sam Fender, Chappell Roan, Hozier, Kings of Leon, Fatboy Slim, Becky Hill, Barry Can’t Swim, The Kooks, Inhaler and many more.
While Kneecap weren’t initially part of the line-up, the rap trio were added to the festival in late June after Mo Chara had been charged with a terror offence by the Metropolitan Police. It also came after their Glastonbury appearance, which Keir Starmer deemed “not appropriate”.
Speaking to News Talk FM, Benn, who runs Festival Republic, defended the decision, stating, “Adding Kneecap is really important for us. It is a really important statement and musically, they’re fantastic, but in terms of what is happening in the world it is really important they are here adding their voice.”
Benn also highlighted Kneecap’s long-running history with Electric Picnic, which has seen them rise up the bill, adding, “I will hasten to remind people that they headlined the Hazelwood stage in 2018 so we have had a long history with Kneecap and I am glad that they are back.”
The festival boss continued: “They are great kids. They are great lads. They’ve got really important songs, they are brilliant live but they have also got really important messages. They didn’t do anything wrong in Glastonbury, it is yet to be proved whether they have done anything wrong anywhere else in the world.”
Benn then said that Kneecap “are on home territory” at Electric Picnic, before adding, “I think they will be really relaxed and the crowd will be really appreciative”.
During the band’s performance at Rock En Seine in Paris last weekend, pro-Israel protestors attempted to interrupt the show. The festival also had its funding cut after they retained Kneecap on the line-up despite calls from French politicians to remove them.
Additionally, before Kneecap performed at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, a group of pro-Israel protestors gathered outside of the venue to condemn the group and held signs accusing the trio of “Jew hatred”.
On August 20th, Kneecap’s Mo Chara appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court for his second hearing. The judge adjourned the ruling regarding the case, and the musician has been released on unconditional bail ahead of his next hearing on September 26th.
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