Manchester City Council considering dropping Kneecap from Fontaines DC support slot
Manchester City Council are allegedly considering pulling Kneecap from a huge Fontaines DC support slot amid their ongoing terror charge, citing “safety concerns”.
The Guardian reported that Manchester City Council, which runs the park, and the concert’s promoter are discussing whether the band should be pulled from the lineup.
Though refusing to admit much, the council has revealed that it is conversing with “key stakeholders” to verify that the event “can take place safely” amid new safety concerns. Despite this, a similar show in London’s Finsbury Park on July 5th went ahead with no incidents.
The gig in question is set to go ahead currently on August 15th; Leeds band English Teacher, who most recently won the Mercury Prize for their debut album, This Could Be Texas, will also provide support. English Teacher recently also used their Wide Awake set to show solidarity with Palestine, stating, “This particular conflict will end, and when it does, like all of us, there will be those who took the side of the oppressor and those who took the side of the oppressed.”
Kneecap have recently been at the heart of controversy as member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offence for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag on stage last November. Recently, Rock en Seine, one of France’s most popular music festivals held just outside of Paris, has suffered a €40,000 funding cut due to their decision to keep Kneecap on the line-up.
Kneecap recently supported Amyl and the Sniffers and Fontaines DC at a massive gig in London’s Finsbury Park. Far Out, who attended the event, wrote of their set, “What was all the more impressive than a dizzying crowd of all ages, sweating and yelling over one another, was their candid address of activism in the internet age.”
The piece continued, “‘I understand that it’s almost inhumane that I’m thinking of new things to say on stage during a genocide, for sound bites,’ Chara said, before insisting the situation is ‘beyond words now’, detailing how food and aid collection areas in Gaza have been trend ‘into killing fields’.”
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