Green Man Festival silent on Kneecap inclusion

Green Man Festival has remained silent over whether it plans to axe the group Kneecap from this year's line-up.

The Welsh government said it "unequivocally condemn calls for violence against any group or individual" and the festival should consider "whether it is appropriate for the act to perform".

The west Belfast rap trio are set to perform at the festival, held near Crickhowell, Powys, in August.

The group have the support of several artists with ties to the festival who have signed an open letter calling for artists to have freedom of expression but, despite repeated requests from the BBC, Green Man Festival has not commented.

Welsh Conservatives demanded the act be pulled after footage emerged from one of the band's performances allegedly showing them calling for MPs to be killed.

Gareth Davies, Welsh Conservative culture, tourism and sport spokesman, said the festival "risks further inciteful comments" if Kneecap is allowed to perform.

In a post on Instagram, Heavenly Recordings, Kneecap's record label, listed a number of artists who have expressed support for Kneecap.

The independent record label said in the caption: "These artists support the right to Freedom of Expression. This is an ever expanding list. If you are an artist who wishes to be added please DM us."

About a quarter of the artists who have signed the open letter have played at the Green Man Festival before.

Fontaines D.C, Idles and Bicep, who signed the letter, have all played at Green Man in recent years and at least two of the acts listed have prominent spots on this year's line-up with English Teacher having signed it and Yard Act asking to be added.

In the wake of the comments, several gigs in Germany and one at the Eden Project in Cornwall have been cancelled.

Kneecap are also due to perform at Wide Awake Festival, Glastonbury and 2000 Trees Festival. They have not said whether the band will still be performing.

In early April, there were calls for Kneecap's US visas to be revoked after their performance at the Coachella music festival.

This week, a video emerged from a November 2023 gig that appeared to show one person from the band saying: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP."

The footage is currently being assessed by counter-terrorism police.

In a statement posted on X, Kneecap said they rejected "any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever".

They added that "an extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action".

The group apologised to the families of murdered MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox, saying they "never intended to cause you hurt".