The celebrated Shindig Festival at Malmesbury’s Charton Park announced their headline act for May bank holiday 2026, and being that it’s Bob Vylan, it is bound to open debate….
London based grime rappers Bob Vylan are no strangers to controversy through their criticisms of the establishment and calling out inequalities. Whilst they were one of many acts at last year’s Glastonbury to make statements condemning the genocide in Palestine, they seemed to take the brunt of the rightwing media assault.
Online opinions from Shindig’s announcement are already strongly divided, but mostly positive from the devoted regular attendees of this marvellous festival. Some suggest it will be great to see them live and away from media exposure, others state otherwise. One said it’s an “embarrassing choice. He’ll make it political and a hate filled performance.’ But hey, who wants to party with those in support of such barbarism?
Another suggests there’s plenty of other things they could be doing at the festival, and they need not attend this particular performance if they disagree with the social statements the band make; now there’s an idea!
The Shindig team said they are “very excited to announce one of the most vital, fearless and electrifying live acts in the UK right now. Expect high-energy, sharp lyricism and a reputation for using music as a force for conversation and change. We believe art should challenge as well as unite.”
I find myself wondering what would become of punk if it suddenly stopped campaigning for righteousness, or what these triggered objectors would say if it was the seventies and John Lennon or Bob Marley was booked, for music has always had political or social motivations, and to censor it for the purposes of propaganda or ignorance would be sacrilegious. Well done, Shindig pose, it’s a seriously important booking.
devizine.com 