Latest news with #BelfastVital
Belfast Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
From Charli XCX to Snow Patrol – our guide to huge concerts you won't want to miss this summer
These are some of the top artists hitting stages across the island With the days getting longer, and recent signs of a (hopefully) sunny summer, Belfast will soon welcome the sound of live music echoing from multiple venues, both outdoors and indoors. As well as the usual annual festivals of Belsonic, Emerge and Belfast Vital, there is an array of acts coming to the island this summer, with some of the biggest gigs in Belfast and Dublin.
Sunday World
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Sharon Osbourne slams Kneecap – again - and says rap trio need to be more like Bono
you three | 'Bono is pro-Palestine, God bless him, but he does it in a way that doesn't incite violence from a crowd.' On Thursday, anti-terror police in London confirmed that there are 'grounds for further investigation' over videos in which a member of Kneecap appeared to shout 'Kill your MP' from the stage and, in a separate incident, shouted 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah'. The trio, comprising Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and DJ Próvai (JJ Ó Dochartaigh), have been embroiled in controversy since the emergence of the videos, which were recorded in November 2023 and November 2024. Kneecap have had concerts cancelled in Germany and England and are facing calls to be dropped from both the Glastonbury Festival and Belfast Vital line-ups this summer. Former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, who is the wife of rock star Ozzy, was one of the first to comment on the controversy surrounding the group when she called for the west Belfast rap group's US work visas to be revoked following their performance at Coachella in which they displayed pro-Palestinian messaging. Kneecap have since released a statement in which they apologised to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and David Amess, as well as denying they support Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are defined as terror organisations by the UK Government. They also hit out at media coverage of the controversy, claiming it was distracting from the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Speaking on Piers Morgan's YouTube programme, Piers Morgan Uncensored, Mrs Osbourne said she supported the group having 'their own political beliefs' but said they should follow the style of U2 frontman Bono. 'These little people are backtracking, [saying] they don't support Hezbollah and Hamas. Give me a break,' she said. 'My stance is have your own belief politically, but don't bring it to a musical festival. Music unites people; music doesn't separate people. 'Their entire attitude is one of anger — it's not of peace. Put your point across, yes, but they should follow the masters, U2. He [Bono] talks about Palestine, and he does it in peace. Sharon Osborne. Today's News in 90 Seconds - Friday May 2 'Bono is pro-Palestine, God bless him, but he does it in a way that doesn't incite violence from a crowd. If anyone knows about festival crowds, it's me — it's been my entire life. It's ignorance, and they're just trying to sell more music.' Dublin-born rocker Bono has long supported the Palestinian cause. Earlier this year, he wrote a piece for political magazine The Atlantic in which she said: 'Freedom must come for the Palestinian people. It does not take a prophet to predict Israel will never be free until Palestine is free.' The former talent judge has a history with music festivals. She was the creator and founder of Ozzfest, dedicated to performances of heavy metal and rock music, typically fronted by her Black Sabbath frontman husband Ozzy Osbourne. Reacting to Mrs Osbourne's comments, Piers Morgan said the group's statement 'irked him' and he branded their denial of support for Hezbollah and Hamas 'a complete lie'. 'They're liars,' he said, 'and they're lying to try and save their careers, because America won't let them back in.' Read more Mrs Osbourne also went on to claim that the group are 'uneducated' and accused them of deflecting accountability by using references to Gaza. She also criticised the trio's manager, Daniel Lambert, who appeared on RTÉ and reiterated the group's belief that they 'are not the story'. 'What a great decision. They're uneducated. When was the last time they went to the Middle East? It's clichéd slogans, and [they] bring nothing to the table except anger,' added Mrs Osbourne. 'Their manager had the audacity to say people were thanking them for bringing this to attention. You'd have to be deaf and blind to not know what is going on in the Middle East.' Speaking on Newstalk's The Pat Kenny Show, Mr Lambert said the clip of the band speaking about Tory MPs was 'taken out of context' and that the group are performance artists portraying characters. He also said that someone in the crowd had shouted 'F**k the Tories' prior to one of Kneecap's members, in the footage, appearing to say 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory'. 'On the band's website, it describes Kneecap as 'a band with socially conscious lyrics that mixes the satirical with reality and absurdity,'' he said. 'That can be seen in everything Kneecap have done, from everything from the fact they use stage names. The very fact that they call themselves quite silly stage names — like DJ Provaí, Mo Chara — they're playing a role and playing a character. 'Before the bit that got cut [in the video clip], they spoke about the Tory Government and an absolute lack of support for the North of Ireland and the mental health crisis,' he said. 'You know that there was a guy last year, Fin Taylor, and he said: 'What you should do next year is bomb Glastonbury.' 'If you print that as a headline out of context from what the guy was saying — he's a comedian — it appears like he's appealing for mass murder. 'This is an absolutely manufactured level of outrage.'
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
DUP calls for special council meeting to address ‘serious concerns' over Kneecap's Belfast concert
It comes as dozens of artists defend under-fire Belfast rappers The DUP has requested a special meeting of Belfast City Council be called to condemn remarks attributed to a west Belfast rap group. The party says it 'has serious concerns' about Kneecap being a support act at Belfast Vital this August, which is being held on property owned by Belfast City Council.
Belfast Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
DUP calls for special council meeting to address ‘serious concerns' over Kneecap's Belfast concert
The party says it 'has serious concerns' about Kneecap being a support act at Belfast Vital this August, which is being held on property owned by Belfast City Council.
Belfast Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Decision on Kneecap gig in Belfast due ‘within 24 hours' as shows in Germany axed
A number of scheduled performances, including three shows in Germany, have been cancelled by organisers amid calls for the band's slot at Glastonbury to be axed. It comes as a Scotland Yard probe into footage appearing to show a member of the west Belfast group saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP' at a show in November 2023.. Ulster Unionist Party councillor Jim Rodgers told BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show that Belfast City Council should ban the band from performing at Belfast Vital. 'Serious consideration should be given to not allow them to use Boucher Road playing field for their events in the next few weeks,' he said. "I brought it up a few days ago, so I'm waiting on the officers' response.' Kneecap's gig at the Eden Project in Cornwall has already been cancelled with a ticket site for gigs in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne stating that the shows in Germany have been axed. Police are also investigating video footage from a second concerts in November 2024 in which a member of the band appeared to shout 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah' — groups which are banned as terrorist organisations in the UK. On Monday, Kneecap issued an apology for any offence caused to the families of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, both of whom were murdered while serving as MPs. The band claimed their comments had been 'deliberately taken out of all context'. However, Mr Rodgers said Kneecap's contrition, branded as 'crocodile tears' by the leader of the DUP, did not go far enough. "Under no circumstances, can we in Belfast City Council permit the use of Boucher Road playing field – we have a responsibility to make sure that people abide by the law whenever they're using any of our facilities and quite clearly if we were to allow them to proceed you would open the floodgates to others doing the same thing,' the veteran UUP representative said. "I've already spoken to some council officers and I'm hoping all the necessary steps are taken - we can't allow people to go on our land and do whatever they like and I would be disappointed if no action was taken,' Mr Rodgers said. Kneecap is set to preform at Belfast Vital on August 29 and tickets for the concert are still available on TicketMaster. The Belfast Telegraph has contact MCD Promotions – Belfast Vital's promoters. The band's manager Daniel Lambert told RTÉ's Prime Time on Tuesday that "moral hysteria" had taken hold and that the band is being held to a higher standard than elected politcians as he addressed calls for acts to be cancelled. "It's not for us to worry, it's for us to have the strength of conviction that we did the right thing." 'The balaclava has slipped'. Gavin Robinson reacts to Kneecap's MP comments Mr Lambert also claimed the band has become subject to a "concerted campaign" which is "solely about de-platforming artists' after their Coachella sets. He expressed no regret about the US performances insisting that taking part in the US festival was the right move. "It's about telling the next young band both through the music industry and through the political class that you cannot speak about Palestine," MrLambert added. A spokesperson for Belfast City Council previously said use of the Boucher Road venue for the scheduled Kneecap gig 'is managed via a legal agreement between the council and the promoter'. "Events programming remains a matter for the organisers,' they added.
