Bob Vylan lost a major gig in the Netherlands after remarks made about Charlie Kirk during a performance in Amsterdam led venue 013 in Tilburg to cancel their upcoming show.
The British rap-punk duo was scheduled to perform at Poppodium 013 on September 16, but the venue pulled the plug following statements frontman Bobby Vylan made at Club Paradiso the night before.
During the set, he addressed the crowd with a pointed dedication: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute p############ of a human being. The pronouns was/were. Cause if you chat s###, you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you p############.”
Kirk, 31, a conservative political figure and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Wednesday (September 10) during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
Authorities have labeled the killing a politically motivated assassination.
The comments quickly ignited backlash, with critics accusing Bobby Vylan of celebrating Kirk’s death.
In response, he released a video denying that interpretation. “At no point during yesterday’s show was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated. At no point whatsoever did we celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death,” he said.
Despite previously supporting Bob Vylan’s right to express outrage over the situation in Gaza, 013 said the Paradiso comments crossed a line.
“We absolutely reject the trivialization of political murder and the call to ‘go look for people in the streets,’” the venue said in a statement.
The venue added that while they acknowledged the punk and activist context of the performance, the new remarks “no longer fall within the boundaries of what we can provide a stage for.”
013 had previously defended the group’s controversial Glastonbury appearance, where Bobby Vylan said “death to the IDF” during a live BBC broadcast.
He later clarified that the statement was aimed at the Israeli military, not Jewish people, and insisted it was political speech. The BBC later apologized, calling the moment “deeply disturbing.”
Club Paradiso stood by the band, citing artistic freedom.
“Paradiso believes in the power of artistic freedom. Music, and punk in particular, has traditionally been a form of art that amplifies anger, discontent, and injustice without filter,” the venue said.
Bob Vylan, formed in 2017 in Suffolk, England, is known for blending punk, Hip-Hop, grime and hardcore while addressing topics like racism, police violence and class inequality.
Ticket holders for the canceled Tilburg show will receive refund instructions via email. The group’s other scheduled performances in the Netherlands remain unchanged, as of press time.
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