Spokesperson of the year 2025: Nadine Shah’s tireless dedication to music and activism
For some people, music is a means of escaping the often ugly realities of life, but over the course of the past year, artists like Nadine Shah have been quick to point out that we are well past the point of escapism.
Throughout the entirety of 2025, whether on the news or through a constant stream of content on social media, we have been bombarded with deplorable, heartbreaking scenes from places like Sudan and Palestine. Some of the worst atrocities imaginable – genocide, enforced famine, and the levelling of entire cities – have been beamed into our retinas on a daily basis, yet there is still a plethora of prominent voices telling us to ignore it all.
With that horrifying backdrop, though, one ray of hope over the past 12 months has been the prevalence of artists and musicians using their voices and platforms as a means of political activism.
One of the most important events in the musical calendar – Glastonbury Festival, for example, was awash with admirable activism. Whether it was artists like CMAT or Amyl and the Sniffers halting their performances to stand in solidarity with Palestine, countless calls for the British government to take action, or the farcical controversy surrounding Kneecap and Bob Vylan in the weeks that followed, the weekend was a perfect reflection of just how unavoidable these issues have become.
Perhaps the most powerful speech of the weekend, however, came from Whitburn’s finest, Nadine Shah. On the Other Stage, during an untelevised, early afternoon slot, Shah used her incredible set to bring attention to the war crimes occurring in Palestine and the UK government’s complacency in those horrors.
Reading out an open letter on behalf of the persecuted activism group Palestine Action, the songwriter shared, “Palestine Action is intervening to stop a genocide, it is acting to save life. We deplore the government’s decision to proscribe it, labelling non-violent direct action as terrorism is an abuse of language and an attack on democracy.”
“The real threat to the life of the nation comes not from Palestine Action but from the Home Secretary’s efforts to ban it,” she continued. “We call on the government to withdraw its proscription of Palestine Action and to stop arming Israel.”
It was an incredibly poignant, emotional address to the crowd, and one which was reflected throughout the entirety of Shah’s performance. Throughout the year, and throughout her entire life as a performer and songwriter, Shah has always made an effort to hold up a mirror to injustice and directly call out those responsible for them.
During a performance at Bradford’s St George’s Hall in March, for instance, she had the sign-language interpreter sign the word ‘genocide’, declaring, “Now we can all say it.”
During a year in which countless people in the public eye have been falling over themselves not to take a public stance on the genocide in Gaza, or taking the Israeli government’s clear falsehoods over their war crimes as gospel, the unwavering activism of Nadine Shah has been as essential as it has been refreshing.
So, we can think of nobody more befitting of being Far Out’s ‘Spokesperson of the Year’ for 2025 than Nadine Shah, not just for her undying dedication to speaking out against injustice over the past 12 months, but throughout her illustrious career.
“I’m often mocked over my political outspokenness; it doesn’t bother me,” the performer told Far Out. “I’m not an artist that thinks that all others should follow suit and use their platforms the same way I do, and I won’t engage in pressuring them into doing so either.”
Continuing, Shah highlighted the importance of integrity when it comes to activism. “It’s quite clear when artists are speaking out politically as a result of peer pressure, it feels disingenuous. Just do or don’t, I do and most likely always will…until the day you mute me or until the day the whole world is on fire cause you sat there and took it and did fuck all.”
She signed off, “Namaste”.
As we march on into 2026 – and I’m sorry not to come bearing a festive message of hope and cheer – it seems unlikely that things will improve in the near future, either with relation to the genocide in Gaza and Sudan, or, for instance, President Donald J Trump’s countless illegal actions as he marches the USA further into the bowels of fascist oppression.
If things are to improve, however, then the position of artists like Nadine Shah, and their dedication to raising awareness for these issues when many politicians and traditional spokespeople will not, is utterly essential.
