Why was Bob Vylan removed from Radar Festival? Bands boycott the music event following the English rap duo’s removal

Radar Festival removed Bob Vylan due to the duo's controversial Glastonbury performance on June 28, 2025, at the West Holt Stage, during which they chanted "Death to the IDF" and "Free Palestine".

The initial announcement of Bob Vylan's removal from the Radar Festival was made on July 2, 2025. After that, in a statement to Two Promoters One Pod, festival founder Catherine Jackson-Smith claimed that the festival was compelled to cancel Bob Vylan's performance to preserve the rest of the festival, here quoted as reported by Far Out magazine's article on the matter on July 3, 2025:

"It started to become frustrating because there were constant conversations above our collective heads, as a venue and ourselves, about whether Bob Vylan could play. There was not an option for Bob Vylan to step on stage on Saturday; that became apparent at the beginning of the week."

Now, in response to the cancellation of Bob Vylan's performance on July 5, 2025, at the festival, two bands have withdrawn from the festival, clearly citing the cancellation of Vylan's set as the reason. These two bands, The Scratch and ĠENN, and their withdrawal from the festival are detailed below.

The Scratch and GENN withdraw from Radar Festival

The Scratch issued a statement on their official Instagram page, announcing their withdrawal from Radar Festival over the cancelation of Bob Vylan's set on July 4, 2025:

"We will not be performing at Radar Festival this weekend. The censorship and de-platforming of artists speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza is greasy, dangerous and must be challenged. To be clear, this decision is not a criticism of Radar Festival. We understand it was an incredibly difficult and complex situation."

The band's statement continued:

"This is about showing solidarity with Bob Vylan and any artist who may face similar treatment in the future. Shadowy government influence and wealthy lobbying groups should not be allowed to dictate who is given a platform and what can be said on it. This situation will only worsen unless we, as artists, support one another and take action..."

GENN shared their statement about their withdrawal from Radar Festival, stating via their Instagram page on July 4, 2025, that while they had considered using their set to raise their voices against the censorship of acts like Vylan, comments from netizens had made them reconsider making the withdrawal:

"For our safety and sanity, we’ve made the final decision to pull out from performing at Radar this weekend. We are devastated to do so after the time, money, and excitement we put towards this performance and can only apologise to anyone who was going to be there to see us."

The statement continued:

"Our fight should not be focused on the policing of those who are trying to spread awareness within their means. This is a distraction from a wider picture. Pressure needs to be placed on those who are instigating the censorship of a genocide happening in real time."

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The band concluded their statement regarding their withdrawal from Radar Festival, stating that netizens should direct their attention and energy towards those in power and not to harass independent voices.

GENN and The Scratch are not the only bands to show their support for Bob Vylan. While these two bands have withdrawn from the Radar Festival to show their support for the rap duo, other acts, Lambrini Girls, Amyl & The Sniffers, Soft Play, and Grandson have all released statements in support of the duo following their Glastonbury performance.

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