EDITORIAL: When Music Takes a Stand: Artists Speaking Up for Palestine
Alt music has never shied away from politics. From Reading & Leeds to the global stage, artists are raising flags, voices and risks to make sure the issues that matter—Palestine included—aren’t ignored.
FEATUREDEDITORIAL
MADDI DUARTE
8/26/20252 min read


Alt music has never been just about the noise. The scene has always carried a demand to be heard (whether it was with punk’s spit-in-your-face politics to riot grrrl’s feminist manifestos), and that hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s evolved. Lately, more artists have been using their stages for more than just entertainment, speaking out on everything from climate action to LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and, most recently, Palestine. Most recently, Reading & Leeds Festival gave us a clear example when Bring Me The Horizon took to the stage with Palestinian flags during their headline set.
It's nice to be able to say that their action isn’t happening in isolation.
Earlier in the summer, Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers performed at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth, only to have their set cut short for waving a Palestinian flag and chanting “Free Palestine.” The festival organisers claimed the interruption was due to a “discriminatory” chant, but the band pushed back, posting footage showing staff removing the flag mid-performance.
The backlash was immediate. Fans called out the festival, and other artists—including Vampire Weekend and The Last Dinner Party—publicly criticised the organisers, defending both the band and the principle of artistic freedom. The incident sparked broader conversations about where the line should be drawn between festival policies and freedom of expression, and whether fans and artists alike are expecting too much—or just the right amount—of political awareness from music events.


Photo: Daniel Lambert
But music is art, and art has never existed in a vacuum. It reflects, challenges, and questions the world around us. Expecting musicians to stay apolitical ignores the very power that gives their work meaning.
Still, some events enforce strict “no politics” policies, which sometimes leads to tension, as in the case of Victorious Festival. But the pressure is on: just weeks ago, a collective of prominent names — Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap — announced the formation of a syndicate designed to protect artists who speak out against Israel’s assault on Gaza. In a statement shared on Instagram, they described the “aggressive, vexatious campaigns” waged by pro-Israel groups like UK Lawyers for Israel, designed to intimidate musicians into silence.
“The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description,” their statement read. “We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there and the role of the UK government in facilitating it.” The group stressed that no artist — especially those at early stages of their careers — should face threats of censorship or professional ruin for expressing solidarity.
Music’s never just music, and more than ever, fans demand honesty from both the organisations and artists they support. Bring Me The Horizon waving a Palestinian flag at Reading & Leeds is just the latest sign: those messages are only getting louder, and no, art won't be silenced.