Coachella 2025 performers show solidarity with Palestine through onstage messages and political statements
At Coachella 2025, artists used the global spotlight to voice solidarity with Palestinians, weaving political statements into their performances across both weekends. With sets livestreamed on YouTube, acts including Green Day, Kneecap, Blonde Redhead, Amyl and the Sniffers, Clairo, Thee Sacred Souls, Bob Vylan, and Darkside took the opportunity to speak on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and other global struggles.
Some uncensored messaging to Coachella 🤝🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/WbHZBrCZl5 — KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025
Irish rap group Kneecap said their April 18 visuals condemning U.S.-backed actions in Gaza were censored on the Sonora Stage. Twitch streamer Hasan Piker streamed their performance uncensored, broadcasting the original message, which criticized Israeli policies and U.S. support. During the same show, the audience chanted 'Free Palestine,' with Kneecap tweeting that 'young people of America don't support genocide.'
Green Day altered lyrics in 'Jesus of Suburbia' to reference the deaths of children in Gaza, while Blonde Redhead ended their set by waving a Palestinian flag and playing a recording of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, reportedly detained by ICE after pro-Palestinian protests.
Clairo was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, who praised her activism and condemned the war in Gaza. Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers offered solidarity not only with Palestinians but also with the queer and trans communities, immigrants, and Ukrainians. Thee Sacred Souls' Josh Lane spoke of shared humanity, saying, 'If I deserve freedom, so do you… so do the Palestinians, so do the Congolese, so do the Sudanese.'
Bob Vylan expressed firm support with the statement, 'Palestinians have always mattered,' during his Sonora Stage set. Darkside's Nicolas Jaar closed with a powerful speech connecting the violence in Gaza to historical injustices and private immigration detention in the U.S.
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