Bob Vylan Lights Up West Holts With Blistering Protest at Glastonbury 2025

June 28, 2025 rocknews

If Glastonbury 2025 was missing an incendiary moment, Bob Vylan delivered it in flames. Taking the West Holts Stage on Saturday afternoon, the London punk-rap duo unleashed a ferocious set that merged unflinching political critique with punk’s raw, uncompromising spirit—leaving the crowd stunned and the press reeling.

The backdrop to their performance was already tense. Irish rap collective Kneecap had been omitted from the BBC’s live coverage of the festival, reportedly due to concerns over their political messaging. Bob Vylan responded in kind—picking up the torch and running with it straight into the line of fire.

The world needs bands like Bob Vylan to stand tall for free speech, boldly voicing raw truths that spark debate and defend the right to be heard, no matter the backlash.

Projected behind them throughout the performance were the words: “Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘conflict’.” Frontman Bobby Vylan didn’t hold back, declaring, “We are the violent punks… sometimes you gotta get your message across with violence, because that is the only language some people speak,” quoting their 2023 track Censored (Interlude). Then came the chant that made headlines: “Death, death to the IDF.”

The fallout was immediate. While Kneecap’s set had been sidelined by the BBC, Bob Vylan’s performance had been streamed live in full—until it wasn’t. The footage was quickly pulled from iPlayer, and the broadcaster has since stated it is “reviewing content” before deciding whether it will be made available on-demand.

Meanwhile, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are assessing video evidence from both Kneecap and Bob Vylan’s sets to determine whether any criminal offences occurred. Civil liberties groups have already weighed in, warning that the line between censorship and accountability is growing dangerously thin.

What’s clear is that Bob Vylan seized the moment to turn their set into an act of defiance—one that fits squarely within the lineage of Glastonbury’s most politically charged performances. This wasn’t protest for protest’s sake. It was raw, furious, and divisive by design.

In an age where music often gets filtered through risk assessments and PR optics, Bob Vylan threw subtlety out the window and delivered a moment that couldn’t be ignored. Whether you found it brave or incendiary, their Glastonbury 2025 set won’t be forgotten anytime soon—and it may well mark a new flashpoint in the ongoing debate about politics in live music.

Image credit @Sky News