Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap’s huge Belfast gig sells out in 35 minutes – as the DUP call for it to be banned 

Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap‘s huge Belfast show for this summer has sold out within half an hour, despite calls from the DUP to have it axed.

• READ MORE: Kneecap on the cover – giving peace, protest and partying a chance

News of the gig was shared earlier this month, when Fontaines D.C. confirmed that they would be heading to the Boucher Road Playing Fields on August 29 for a headline show, joined by fellow Irish band Kneecap.

Tickets went on sale on Friday (April 25), and it has now been confirmed that the show has fully sold out – with all tickets being snatched within just 35 minutes.

The hip-hop trio took to X/Twitter to share the news earlier today (April 28), sharing an updated poster and writing: “Belfast you SOLD OUT 40,000 in 35 minutes…..this one will be epic.”

The gig has caught the eye of the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party], who are pushing for the performance to be banned. Speaking at Belfast City Hall, the group’s leader Sarah Bunting suggested that the council review the licence of the event following Kneecap’s controversial Coachella performances earlier this month.

Belfast you SOLD OUT 40,000 in 35 minutes…..this one will be epic https://t.co/4Zn6pSwO6P pic.twitter.com/CqaSFujoUO

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 25, 2025

At their two sets at Coachella, the trio reportedly left organisers “blindsided” due to the overtly political nature of their live sets. This included showing pro-Palestine projections on the screen behind them and encouraging the audience to chant “Free, Free Palestine”.

The California appearances also led to calls from Sharon Osbourne to revoke their working visas. Kneecap responded to the backlash from both the festival and Osbourne, then and called the controversy “a coordinated smear campaign” against their efforts to “expose the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people”.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall about the upcoming gig with Fontaines D.C., Bunting said (via Hot Press): “It is deeply concerning that Kneecap has been selected to perform at Belfast Vital, particularly given their track record of inflammatory behaviour and associations that many in Belfast and beyond find deeply offensive.

“Only this last week Kneecap has once again engaged in divisive and offensive rhetoric which, if repeated on Belfast City Council property, would bring significant reputational damage upon the council,” the statement added. “As a public authority, Belfast City Council must hold itself to a higher standard than commercial organisations.”

As well as Coachella, the criticism against the band comes amid recent news that counter-terror police are assessing footage from a show at London’s O2 Kentish Town, which was held in November 2024 and appears to show a band member shouting, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, while also displaying a Hezbollah flag.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are proscribed terror organisations, and it is an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 to “invite support for a proscribed organisation”.

News broke shortly afterwards that the police were also assessing a second video from a Kneecap gig, which allegedly shows the group calling for the death of Conservative MPs. As reported by Sky News, the footage is thought to come from a show from November 2023 where one of the West Belfast trio allegedly said to the crowd: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

In response to the news of the first clip being assessed, Kneecap shared a post on X of a graphic which read, “18 Months Of Genocide Footage Not Under Investigation By UK Counter-Terror Police”.

The tensions between Kneecap and the DUP have been a topic of discussion for years now. Last year, for example, the band accused the then government of attempting to “silence” them after their BPI funding was blocked.

This, they claimed, was a result of their provocative 2019 anti-DUP tour poster, which they claimed “pissed off the Tories”. The court later ruled that the move was in fact illegal, and Kneecap have received the £14,250 prize, which they distributed to two charities in Belfast.

Speaking to NME as part of their feature on The Cover, the band also opened up about their “very easily misunderstood” single ‘Get Your Brits Out’ which took aim at the party. “That was the idea: we’re getting the Brits out and giving them all ecstasy because they’re so stressed from complaining about gay marriage and stuff for so long,” said Móglaí Bap.

DJ Próvaí continued: “They hate the gays, they hate dinosaurs… They hate everyone who loves a party, basically.”

Their vocal support for Palestine is by no means a new occurrence either, as they last year shared their ’10 rules to live by’, which included: “Be outspoken, leave your mark and stand up for your people. Stand up for Palestine, and stand up for oppressed people around the world.”

Later that year, Bap raised over £30,000 for Gaza food parcels by running 10k a day on tour, the trio made headlines for refusing to take off their Palestine badges in an appearance on Ireland’s Late Late Show, and arranged a Gig for Gaza charity show alongside Primal Scream and Paul Weller.

Regarding the backlash to their Coachella sets, the band are reportedly in the process of securing a new sponsor for renewed US visas for their October tour after they were dropped by their former sponsor and booking agent Independent Artist Group (IAG) last week.

In their statement, they shared: “The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple — we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing.”

“Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponise false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide,” they added, also bringing up “massive numbers of Jewish people” who are as “outraged by this genocide just as we are”.

“What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes — and we will not stay silent. No media spin will change this,” they continued.

Fontaines D.C. have been less outspoken than Kneecap, although have shared their support for Palestine in the past.

In an interview with NME, frontman Grian Chatten explained why they want to use their platform to speak out, and why they teamed up with Massive Attack and Young Fathers for a limited edition 12” single to support the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

“It becomes incredibly tiring and disenfranchising, not just as a musician but as a young person, to be talking about and raising awareness,” he said. “At some point, you’ve got to do something that feels a bit more tangible, you know?”

“Time is ticking and people are getting beheaded and massacred and so on. It really is the responsibility of the masses, of artists, and anyone with a voice – which is most people nowadays – to do something, say something. Which side are you on?”

The Belfast show isn’t the only gig Kneecap and Fontaines are playing together. Elsewhere, the two are set to appear together at London’s Finsbury Park this summer and at a huge outdoor show together in Manchester, where Chatten and co. will headline a gig at Wythenshawe Park, and have already enlisted the hip-hop trio as special guests.

Going ahead, there has been some debate about some of Kneecap’s festival appearances since the Coachella sets. Already some MPs are calling for Glastonbury to drop the band from the line-up, as well as from the TRNSMT bill.

Central Scotland Tory MSP Stephen Kerr, for example, spoke about the alleged comments about Tory MPs from Kneecap while on stage, and told The Sun: “Glorifying the murder of elected representatives is not ‘edgy’ or ‘rebellious’.

“No civilised society can tolerate this kind of poison. Yet unbelievably, the organisers in Glasgow [TRNSMT] still intend to give these extremists a global platform. They should immediately reconsider.”

At time of writing, the band remain on the line-up for both festivals.

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