Controversial rap group Kneecap play secret gig in Berlin

J. J. O Dochartaigh from the hip hop trio Kneecap in Finsbury Park on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

BERLIN - Controversial Belfast punk-rap group Kneecap said Wednesday they had performed a secret gig in Berlin after several of their concerts in Germany were cancelled last year.

The band, whose members sing in Irish, have had multiple international concerts called off over their pro-Palestinian stance and other controversies.

The band said on X that Tuesday’s performance was their “first ever German show.”

A recording posted on the band’s Instagram account showed a band member expressing “solidarity to our Palestinian brothers and sisters” and leading the tightly-packed crowd in a chant of “free, free Palestine!”

The German government has been a staunch supporter of Israel despite voicing some criticism of its conduct in Gaza.

One of Kneecap’s members faced a terrorism charge in the U.K. over allegedly displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November 2024.

However, in March London’s High Court upheld a decision to dismiss the case over procedural errors by prosecutors.

Canada barred Kneecap last year from entering the country, citing the group’s alleged support for Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

However, a performance in Paris in September went ahead despite objections from French Jewish groups and government officials.

The group also played England’s famous Glastonbury Festival in June 2025 and drew packed audiences in Tokyo in January.