Latest news with #CatherineJackson-Smith
Daily Mirror
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Radar festival acts boycott event after Bob Vylan sacked from line-up
Bob Vylan were dropped from the festival due to their controversial Glastonbury set which criticised the BBC Two bands are boycotting Radar festival after Bob Vylan were sacked from the line-up. The band were removed from the list of performers following their controversial gig at Glastonbury last week. They were dropped as headliners for the Manchester event after starting chants of "free, free Palestine" and "death, death to the IDF [ Israel Defence Forces]" during their controversial Glastonbury performance last weekend. They also projected a message onto the screen behind them which said: "Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a 'conflict'." Bob Vylan have been dropped from shows in Germany and France as a result, with their set currently being assessed by police. Bob Vylan's agent United Talent Agency have dropped them and they have also had their US visas revoked. Radar organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith told NME that the festival did not want to remove Bob Vylan from the line-up. However, she said they felt pressured so then the event could still go ahead. Two other acts have now dropped out of the festival due to Bob Vylan being axed. The Scratch shared a statement with their fans as they announced they were withdrawing from Radar. They said they wanted to show "solidarity" with other artists. They wrote: "The censorship and de-platforming of artists speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza is greasy, dangerous and must be challenged. "To be clear, this decision is not a criticism of Radar Festival. We understand it was an incredibly difficult and complex situation. This is about showing solidarity with Bob Vylan and any artist who may face similar treatment in the future. "Shadowy government influence and wealthy lobbying groups should not be allowed to dictate who is given a platform and what can be said on it. This situation will only worsen unless we, as artists, support one another and take action." GENN shared their own statement as they also said they wouldn't be playing at Radar. They said: "As a minority on pretty much every line-up, and with a relatively modest platform, we considered whether we could use our physical presence to speak against the bullying, censorship, and strong-arming demonstrated towards the likes of both Bob Vylan and Radar. "For our safety and sanity, we've made the final decision to pull out from performing at Radar this weekend. We are devastated to do so after the time, money, and excitement we put towards this performance and can only apologise to anyone who was going to be there to see us. "Our fight should not be focused on the policing of those who are trying to spread awareness within their means. This is a distraction from a wider picture. Pressure needs to be placed on those who are instigating the censorship of a genocide happening in real time." Bob Vylan have since defended their performance at Glastonbury. They have said that they are "not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race of group of pepole" and that they are wanting the "dismantling of a violent military machine".
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Bob Vylan: Radar Festival says it was forced to drop controversial act
The co-organiser of Radar Festival has stressed she wanted Bob Vylan to perform Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Several more festivals have removed Bob Vylan from their line-ups in the wake of their performance at Glastonbury. A UK festival has said it was put in a lose-lose situation if the band were to continue to perform - facing an entire day being cancelled. Radar Festival's co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith spoke to podcasters this morning about the reasons for dropping the band, telling them it was beyond the festival's control. The fallout from Bob Vylan's Glastonbury Festival set continues, as Manchester's Radar Festival has dropped the group from their bill ahead of this weekend's event. An announcement was made earlier this week by the festival organisers, simply stating that Bob Vylan would no longer be part of the festival. It prompted fans to complain and call for ticket refunds due to the eleventh-hour change. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But in an interview with podcast 2 Promoters 1 Pod, one of the organisers has now explained the reasons behind the band's removal, telling the podcast the decision was beyond their control - and an entire day of the festival would have been cancelled if Bob Vylan were due to perform. Radar Festival organisers joined the 2 Promoters 1 Group podcast this morning to explain the reasons for pulling Bob Vylan from their line-up this year. |Co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith said that the venue involved, the O2 Victoria Warehouse, was supportive of the band remaining on the bill. However, she claims a call was made by authorities that the band would either need to be removed, or the festival would be cancelled on Saturday, the day Bob Vylan were due to headline. 'We've only communicated with the venue,' she told the podcast. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So the venue has had to be a middleman in some capacity with forces above their heads. As someone that owns a venue, I completely sympathise and understand the principle [...] that come Monday morning, they still have to have an income. They can't have their licence revoked or themselves shut down or police issues.' Jackson-Smith stressed she wanted Bob Vylan to perform at the festival, but had 'one of the most horrendous professional discussions' regarding the removal of the band. She added: 'We could continue with Bob Vylan as our headliner. If we continued with Bob Vylan as our headliner, we wouldn't have the festival happening on Saturday.' She added: 'We've got 41 other bands that are travelling here. They've all paid for flights, Underoath are travelling from America for this gig. I didn't want to phone up Underoath and say 'hey guys, never mind'. Financially, that puts us in an incredibly precarious situation.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The discussion came hours before the BBC announced they would drop 'high-risk' live performances like the ones undertaken by Bob Vylan and Kneecap, with the corporation stating that any musical performances deemed to be high risk would now not be broadcast live or streamed live. You can listen to the entire interview with Catherine Jackson-Smith on the 2 Promoters 1 Pod YouTube channel from today.
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Bob Vylan: Radar Festival says it was forced to drop controversial act
The co-organiser of Radar Festival has stressed she wanted Bob Vylan to perform Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Several more festivals have removed Bob Vylan from their line-ups in the wake of their performance at Glastonbury. A UK festival has said it was put in a lose-lose situation if the band were to continue to perform - facing an entire day being cancelled. Radar Festival's co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith spoke to podcasters this morning about the reasons for dropping the band, telling them it was beyond the festival's control. The fallout from Bob Vylan's Glastonbury Festival set continues, as Manchester's Radar Festival has dropped the group from their bill ahead of this weekend's event. An announcement was made earlier this week by the festival organisers, simply stating that Bob Vylan would no longer be part of the festival. It prompted fans to complain and call for ticket refunds due to the eleventh-hour change. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But in an interview with podcast 2 Promoters 1 Pod, one of the organisers has now explained the reasons behind the band's removal, telling the podcast the decision was beyond their control - and an entire day of the festival would have been cancelled if Bob Vylan were due to perform. Radar Festival organisers joined the 2 Promoters 1 Group podcast this morning to explain the reasons for pulling Bob Vylan from their line-up this year. |Co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith said that the venue involved, the O2 Victoria Warehouse, was supportive of the band remaining on the bill. However, she claims a call was made by authorities that the band would either need to be removed, or the festival would be cancelled on Saturday, the day Bob Vylan were due to headline. 'We've only communicated with the venue,' she told the podcast. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So the venue has had to be a middleman in some capacity with forces above their heads. As someone that owns a venue, I completely sympathise and understand the principle [...] that come Monday morning, they still have to have an income. They can't have their licence revoked or themselves shut down or police issues.' Jackson-Smith stressed she wanted Bob Vylan to perform at the festival, but had 'one of the most horrendous professional discussions' regarding the removal of the band. She added: 'We could continue with Bob Vylan as our headliner. If we continued with Bob Vylan as our headliner, we wouldn't have the festival happening on Saturday.' She added: 'We've got 41 other bands that are travelling here. They've all paid for flights, Underoath are travelling from America for this gig. I didn't want to phone up Underoath and say 'hey guys, never mind'. Financially, that puts us in an incredibly precarious situation.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The discussion came hours before the BBC announced they would drop 'high-risk' live performances like the ones undertaken by Bob Vylan and Kneecap, with the corporation stating that any musical performances deemed to be high risk would now not be broadcast live or streamed live.
