Kneecap now have 1.5 million monthly Spotify listeners
- Text by Molly Baker
- Photography by Kneecap (courtesy of)
Not the story — The number has tripled from 500,000 in January, and comes after months of criticism from media and politicians as the Irish rap trio have expressed support for Palestine.
Irish rap group Kneecap now have 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a figure that has tripled from 500,000 since January.
It comes as the band have made headlines over recent months, having faced criticism from media and politicians for their pro-Palestinian stance, with calls for them to be pulled from the Glastonbury Festival lineup amid a Met Police terrorism investigation.
The trio, composed of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J. J. Ó Dochartaigh, went ahead with their performance at the West Holts Stage on Saturday, although it was not broadcast by the BBC. It was one of the most attended shows of the weekend, with the West Holts Stage forced to be locked off after hitting capacity before the trio took to the stage.
The terror inquiry stemmed from a November 2024 show in London, where Ó hAnnaidh allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, and a separate allegation where a member of the band appeared to say: “Kill your local MP.” On Sunday, June 29, it was reported that two terror charges had been dropped, with the investigation into the flag incident still ongoing.
In the aftermath of the festival, it was announced that a criminal investigation had been launched into Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan’s sets, after the latter led chants of “death to the IDF”, while Kneecap chanted “free, free Palestine” and “fuck Keir Starmer”.
The controversy around the Irish trio saw them cut from a number of other line-ups across the UK and Europe – including Glasgow’s TRNSMT, Cornwall’s Eden Sessions, and Germany’s Hurricane and Southside festivals.
Following the accusations against Ó hAnnaidh, which he denies, over 100 artists – including Massive Attack, Idles and Fontaines D.C. – showed their support for Kneecap by signing an open letter opposing the repression of artistic freedom. In a social media post, the trio responded to the charges by labelling them “political policing” and “a carnival of distraction”.
Molly Baker is a freelance journalist. Follow her on Instagram.
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