Kneecap announced for Bilbao BBK 2025: “On the night we should have been in Glasgow we’ve found welcome arms with our Basque brothers and sisters” 

Kneecap have been added to the line-up for Bilbao BBK 2025, following a cancelled appearance in Glasgow.

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The Irish hip-hop trio announced the news on social media, taking to Twitter/X to confirm that they will be playing their “first ever gig in the Basque Country / Euskal Herria” next month. This comes as they have been added to the Bilbao BBK 2025 bill at the last minute, and are now set to perform on July 11.

The festival is set to run between July 10 – 12, and will also see performances from the likes of Pulp, RAYE, Bicep, Amyl And The Sniffers, Kaytranada, Japanese Breakfast, Michael Kiwanuka, Kylie Minogue and more.

For Kneecap, their name being added to the bill comes as they were originally meant to perform at TRNSMT in Glasgow on that same date. They were dropped from the bill last month after counter-terror police began to assess footage from a London performance last November, which led to Mo Chara being charged by the Metropolitan Police with a terror offence.

“On the night we should have been in Glasgow we’ve found welcome arms with our Basque brothers and sisters,” they wrote in the update announcing Bilbao BBK.

Kaixo Bilbao….we are buzzing to be added to the @bilbaobbklive lineup.

Our first ever gig in the Basque Country / Euskal Herria

On the night we should have been in Glasgow we've found welcome arms with our Basque brothers and sisters

https://t.co/3rIfFzSssV… pic.twitter.com/HHw77hux8O

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) June 11, 2025

The charge related to the musician allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last year. The band have denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, and stated that they would not incite or condone violence against any individuals. They have also argued that the footage of the moment had been taken out of context.

“To the thousands of people who bought tickets, flights and hotels to see us play, we are sorry…it is out of our hands,” they wrote, announcing the TRNSMT news. “Glasgow has always been a huge city for us. We’ve played there many many times, with no issues – ever. Make of that what you will”.

The band also doubled down that they were “removed” from the line-up rather than pulling out themselves.

TRNSMT spokesperson said that the decision was reached “due to concerns expressed by the Police about safety at the event,” and a Police Scotland spokesperson told NME: “Any decision on the line-up at TRNSMT is for the organisers and there was no prior consultation with Police Scotland before acts were booked.

“Officers have highlighted the potential reaction of such a large audience to this band would require a significant policing operation in order to support the delivery of a safe event. We have also passed on information from the public around safety concerns to allow organisers to make an informed decision on the running of the festival.”

TRSNMT will be held at Glasgow Green from July 11-13 with performances from the likes of 50 Cent, Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol, The Script and Fontaines D.C. After announcing that they’d no longer be playing the Scottish festival, Kneecap unveiled a replacement headline gig at Glasgow’s O2 Academy on Tuesday July 8 instead. Visit here for UK tickets and here for international tickets.

Amid the controversy, Kneecap headlined Wide Awake Festival in London recently, shortly after a warm up show at the 100 Club without any safety issues. 2000trees festival have vowed for their headline set with Kneecap to go ahead in July, promising fans that it will be “monumental”, and Glastonbury have said that they will keep the band on the line-up and still broadcast their set as usual.

The shows and festival appearances Kneecap have seen cancelled include  stops at Germany’s Hurricane Festival and Southside Festivals, Cornwall’s Eden Project, and a replacement show in Plymouth.

Mo Chara – real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – is due to appear at Westminster Crown Court on June 18. He encouraged fans to gather at Westminster with “a big bag of ket” for the hearing.

The post Kneecap announced for Bilbao BBK 2025: “On the night we should have been in Glasgow we’ve found welcome arms with our Basque brothers and sisters”  appeared first on NME.