Grandson has claimed that he wasn’t allowed to bring Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan out on stage at his O2 Forum Kentish Town show.
The singer, real name Jordan Benjamin, played the venue, part of Academy Music Group, last night (March 2) as part of his ‘Inertia’ tour and planned to bring Vylan out as a special guest.
“As we got ready to rock the O2 Forum Kentish Town tonight, we were informed right before the show that our surprise guest Bobby Vylan would not be allowed in the venue or onstage,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories to address the controversy. “When I threatened to pull out of the show they said it was out of their hands and due to the local police’s fear of protestors impacting the safety of the audience.”
He added: “I was put in the position where I had to either tell the 2,000 people that travelled to the show and paid a ticket tonight to go home, or have my OWN freedom as an artist to invite whoever [the] fuck I want onto the stage and say whatever the fuck I want be infringed on.”
He explained that he decided to go ahead with the show out of respect for the fans and gave them “a place to feel the love and community that a Grandson show is ultimately about”, but that it felt “gross”.
“You benefit from the ticket sales and take a merch cut from outspoken artists but then aren’t prepared to protect our words,” he finished. “Really shameful and disappointing.”
He also shared a video of himself on stage, in which he explained the situation to concertgoers.
Academy Music Group declined to comment when approached by NME.
Grandson has worked with Bob Vylan previously, including on his song ‘Who’s The Enemy’, and they were scheduled to support him in the US last year until their visas were revoked following their controversial Glastonbury Festival set.
The punk-rap duo’s set was broadcast live on the BBC and saw Bobby lead the audience in chants of “death, death to the IDF” [Israel Defense Forces] and “free, free Palestine”.
Following the festival, not only were their US visas revoked, but the performance was subject to a criminal investigation from Avon and Somerset Police, which was later dropped, and they were dropped by their agent.
Grandson was one of a number of artists to defend Bob Vylan following the outcry, writing in a social media statement: “Censorship of art is a tactic of control. They blame artists and activists and not those who responsible for the conditions we rage against. From the death spiral of corporate greed and climate change to the genocide of Palestinian lives, the music and the artists are not the problem, we are the symptom of a sick world.”
He added: “As a Jewish artist, I am deeply offended by the conflation of criticism against a military force known for their indiscriminate violence with antisemitism. The Israeli government has done more to exacerbate antisemitism this past 2 years than any statements by artists advocating for Palestinian freedom and solidarity. Bob Vylan are the one feature on my album and that feature will go on. If they have the opportunity to come to the United States, they will join us on the ‘Inertia’ tour as planned.”