DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

8 October 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Election 2025
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Election 2025
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Bob Vylan concert in Tilburg cancelled in wake of Paradiso storm

September 14, 2025
Bob Vylan on stage at Boardmasters Festival last week. Photo: Splash News via ANP

Music venue 013 in Tilburg has cancelled an upcoming show by British punk rap duo Bob Vylan in the wake of the backlash over the band’s comments on stage in Amsterdam.

The Dutch-Jewish research institute CIDI called on people who attended the concert at Paradiso on Saturday to file police complaints after the band’s singer chanted “death to the IDF”.

Bobby Vylan also dedicated one of the songs to the right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in Utah last week, calling Kirk a “piece of shit” and commenting: “If you chat shit, you get banged”.

In a statement, 013’s management said Bob Vylan had “clearly crossed a line” and accused the band of ”trivialising political murder”.

Bob Vylan had been due to perform at Paradiso in July, but the show was postponed after two masked men held up a banner outside the venue with the slogan: “If Bob Vylan plays that night, Amsterdam will stand and fight.”

Bob Vylan’s next scheduled performance at Doornroosje on Monday is still due to go ahead, but venue manager Joris Holter said he would be talking to the artist about the content of the show.

“Glorifying murder”

“We can’t simply let the show go ahead, but I don’t want to cancel it either. That’s too easy,” Holter told NOS.

“Glorifying a political murder is unacceptable,” he added. “I was really pissed at those guys. It doesn’t help one bit.”

Bob Vylan posted a response on social media site X, better known as Twitter, denying that the band had celebrated Kirk’s death.

“I did call him a piece of shit,” he said. “That much is true. But at no point was his death celebrated. If it was, go find me a quote.”

Calm down. pic.twitter.com/k6jeeedRvB

— Bob Vylan (@BobbyVylan) September 14, 2025

The band sparked outrage at the Glastonbury festival in England in June by chanting “death to the IDF” in a televised performance. The BBC said it had received nearly 3,400 complaints and a police investigation is ongoing.

Dutch police said they would discuss the complaints against Bob Vylan with the public prosecution service, who will decide whether to bring charges.

Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, said she would await the prosecution service’s decision, but said in a post on Bluesky: “Artistic freedom doesn’t mean that concert-goers or Amsterdammers should ever threatened or face calls to hatred or violence.”

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Art and culture Police Society
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Burkina Faso detains Dutch NGO workers on espionage charges
Two DNA matches found Amsterdam sex worker cold case
Number of millionaire households in NL hits new record
VVD senator quits, says party has drifted from its core values
EU parliament votes to ban "veggie burger"and "vegan sausage"
NewsHomeEconomyElection 2025Art and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you with up-to-date news about this month's Dutch general election.

Our thanks to everyone who donates regularly to Dutch News. It costs money to produce our daily news service, our original features and daily newsletters, and we could not do it without you.

If you have not yet made a donation, or did so a while ago, you can do so via these links

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now