Controversial anti-Israel rap group Kneecap plays secret gig in Berlin

Band members, who have been investigated for terror support, lead chant of ‘free Palestine’ at their first-ever concert in Germany

Irish rap group Kneecap band member, Liam O'Hanna, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, speaks to supporters outside Westminster Magistrates' Courts in London on August 20, 2025. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Irish rap group Kneecap band member, Liam O'Hanna, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, speaks to supporters outside Westminster Magistrates' Courts in London on August 20, 2025. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

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

The band, whose members sing in Irish, has 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.”

One of Kneecap’s members faced a terrorism charge in the UK over allegedly displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror 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 for the Hamas terror group.

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.

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