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Kneecap Cancels U.S. Shows Amid Terror Charge ‘Witch-Hunt,’ Promises ‘Top Secret’ Surprise Instead

The band is also confident it will return for an "even bigger" American tour in the future.

Kneecap Cancels U.S. Shows Amid Terror Charge ‘Witch-Hunt,’ Promises ‘Top Secret’ Surprise Instead

Mo Chara, DJ Provaí and Móglaí Bap of Kneecap performs on the West Holts Stage during during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England.

Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The members of Kneecap have canceled all of their upcoming tour dates in the United States due to scheduling conflicts that have arisen as a result of their ongoing alleged terror offense legal saga.

In a message posted to Instagram on Monday (Aug. 25), bandmates Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí explained that they had “bad news” to share with American fans who had been looking forward to seeing them play a run of sold-out stateside shows this fall. “Due to the proximity of our next court hearing in London to the first date of the tour, as the British government continues [its] witch-hunt, we will have to cancel all 15 U.S. tour dates in October,” the trio wrote.


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“But once we win our court case, which we will, we promise to embark on an even bigger tour to all you great heads,” Kneecap continued. “We also have some good news. We will be sharing something very special for U.S. fans next week so that we can still ink in with you all in October. It’s top secret for now, but all will be revealed next week — stay tuned.”

Noting that refunds for the American shows will be available at people’s respective points of purchase, the band ended its statement with a strong message. “‘The revolution will be no re-run, brothers,'” it read. “‘The revolution will live.’ FREE PALESTINE!”

The cancelations mark just the latest development in Kneecap’s legal battle with the British police, who in May charged frontman Mo Chara with allegedly showing support for terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah at a November 2024 concert in London. The band members — who have been outspoken in their support for Palestinian people amid the war in Gaza, notably accusing Israel of “genocide” during their Coachella set in April — quickly responded to the charge, calling it a “carnival of distraction” in a statement on Instagram.

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Kneecap has also denied ever supporting Hamas or Hezbollah. Legal proceedings involving Chara will resume on Sept. 26, at which time a judge will decide whether he will be required to stand trial. In the meantime, his legal team is working to have the case thrown out.

Read Kneecap’s full statement below.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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Mariah Carey kicks off the 2025 holiday season.
Courtesy Photo

Mariah Carey kicks off the 2025 holiday season.

Pop

In This Season of Giving, Mariah Carey Shares Throwback Clip From 1994 Manifesting a Potential Christmas Classic One Day: ‘So Grateful’

MC only had to wait 25 years for her all-time holiday classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You" to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Mariah Carey is the undisputed Queen of Christmas. The pop singer has lorded over the holiday charts for the past six years with her ubiquitous wintertime classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It seems hard to believe it now if you’ve been anywhere near a store since Halloween, but the yuletide favorite that was released in 1994 did not chart until 2000 and did not hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2019, fully 25 years after it first hit our ears.

Now, as the holidays really ramp up, the best-selling Christmas song of all time in the U.S. seems like a no-brainer to top the charts every year. But on Tuesday (Dec. 9), MC gave thanks for how it all started in a throwback video she re-posted from a fan feed of an interview she did in 1994 in which she was asked if she hopes one of the songs from her first holiday album, that year’s Merry Christmas, might some day be as ubiquitous as such standards as “White Christmas” or “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.
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