Shindig Festival stands firm on Bob Vylan booking despite licencing pressure
Bob Vylan on stage. Credit: NMK Photography
Booking controversial punk-rap duo Bob Vylan could cost independent festival Shindig its future, organisers say — but they’re standing firm.
Members of the South Cotswold Conservative Association submitted an application to review Shindig Festival’s premises licence, citing concerns over the band’s “highly provocative political language and imagery” which they said could increase tensions and risk disorder.
The London punk-rap duo, known for their pro-Palestinian stance, came under fire after their Glastonbury performance in June 2025, when vocalist Bobby Vylan led crowds in chanting “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”. Some critics accused the band of antisemitism.
“We knew we’d face a bit of controversy or flak for headlining them,” Flufee, Creative and Sustainability Director for Shindig Festival, told The Bristol Cable. “I’m Jewish. Allowing artists to shine a light on genocide wherever it may be is courageous, and I support Bob Vylan and others speaking out.”
Flufee said organisers briefly debated whether to remove the act, but ultimately felt they had to take a stand: “If we back down and say people can tell us who we can book and what people can say at our events, that’s a massive erosion of rights and sets a really bad precedent.”
“We are facing censorship and standing our ground,” added Festival Director, Simon Clarke.
In a comment to The Cable, Bob Vylan said: “The threat to the festival’s licence is unwarranted and shameful. But we are proud to take part in a festival with morals and ethics that places art, and freedom to express that art, at its forefront.”
Local opposition
In early April, Elizabeth Threlfall and Michael Bromley Gardner — members of the South Cotswold Conservative Association — submitted an application to review Shindig Festival’s premises licence.
Allowing artists to shine a light on genocide wherever it may be is courageous, and I support Bob Vylan and others speaking out
The Cable contacted the South Cotswold Conservative Association. Chair Laura Wilson-Hall said: “This is not an objection to Shindig Festival and the important cultural and economic benefits of festivals and live music. This is about standing up for British Jews and not standing by while performers use their platforms to fuel antisemitism in this country.
“We have seen a staggering and unacceptable rise in violence towards the Jewish people on our streets. We stand with British Jews and while Bob Vylan, who has been investigated by the police and banned from other events in the USA, Germany, the Netherlands and Manchester in the UK because of repeatedly expressing antisemitic views, remains on the lineup, we ask Wiltshire Council to reconsider the licence.”
The band have consistently denied that they are antisemitic. Bobby Vylan has stated that “death to the IDF” was intended to mean “an end to the oppression that Palestinian people are facing,” adding he was “not regretful” of the chant.
Avon and Somerset Police opened an investigation into the incident, but no criminal charges were brought against the band.
And they are not alone. Other bands, such as Irish group Kneecap, have also faced allegations of antisemitism over their pro-Palestinian positions. These incidents come amid a climate where criticism of Zionism and the actions of the Israeli state is all too often conflated with antisemitism.
An article in +972 Magazine, an independent outlet run by Palestinian and Israeli journalists, argues that following Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance there is a growing tendency to treat pro-Palestinian slogans — including “Free Palestine,” “From the river to the sea,” and “Globalise the intifada” — as inherently antisemitic, narrowing space for legitimate political expression on Palestine..
‘We’re living in unprecedented times’
The formal licensing hearing is scheduled for 18 May — just three days before the festival opens to the public. However, organisers say a recent pre-hearing meeting strengthened their confidence that the event will proceed.
According to Flufee, 16 people submitted comments to Wiltshire Council over the licence review, with only two objecting to the festival going ahead. According to documents submitted to Wiltshire Council, the two people who objected were Michael Bromley Gardner, Parish Clerk for Charlton, and Elizabeth Threlfall, a Wiltshire councillor.
“Fourteen of the 16 were actually completely for the festival,” he said.
The objections that were raised reportedly focused on health and safety concerns connected to Bob Vylan’s performance. Threlfall’s objection cited “a reasonable risk of disorder, confrontations, and antisocial behaviour”. Organisers strongly reject those claims.
“We’ve run for 12 years and we have an impeccable safety record,” said Flufee. “And Bob Vylan has never had any issues at any of his gigs before or after the Glastonbury incident.”
Inspector Louise McCoy from Wiltshire Police said: “There is no information or intelligence concerning any public disorder at Shindig as a result of this act’s appearance.
“Intelligence will continue to be reviewed leading up to the event, and the local policing team are fully briefed.”
The festival has now brought in a specialist licensing lawyer who works with major UK festivals. “There is no legal precedent that they have to take the licence away or tell us we can’t have Bob,” Flufee said. “But we’re living in unprecedented times.
“In this day and age, with what’s going on across the board with freedom of speech and human rights in general, I think it’s really fucking important,” he said.
This challenge comes on top of a wider struggle for survival in the independent events sector. Shindig, which has faced mounting financial pressure in recent years, is operating in a landscape of rising costs, tighter margins and increasing regulatory complexity.
Like many independent festivals, it has survived on determination rather than stability. As Flufee put it: “It’s been a fucking nightmare the last few years. We’ve only kept going through absolute determination by the four of us to put it on and not walk away.”
Organisers are now urging audiences to get behind the festival, hoping their defiance will be rewarded.
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