UK band planned to kick off stateside tour in Spokane. Following chants of ‘death to the IDF’ the Trump administration canceled their visas.

A British band set to kick off their U.S. tour in Spokane made international headlines for their incendiary remarks against Israel. With the Trump administration revoking the band’s visas, their Spokane debut now looks unlikely.
Punk rock duo Bob Vylan drew international scorn for leading a chant of “death, death to the IDF” during an English music festival broadcast on the BBC. IDF stands for the Israeli Defense Force.
Consequences for the little-known group was swift. They were dropped by their label. A police investigation has been launched into whether the chant violated UK hate speech laws. And their U.S. visas were revoked, which will likely prevent their Oct. 24 appearance at the Knitting Factory in Spokane.
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” wrote State Department deputy director Christopher Landau on X after hearing of Vylan’s rhetoric against the Israeli Defense Force.
The duo both are known by the pseudonym Bob Vylan. The lead vocalist and guitarist goes by the stage name Bobby Vylan, while the band’s drummer goes by Bobbie Vylan. The pair have not backed down from the comments, writing on Instagram they are being targeted for their opposition to Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
“We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs, or any other race or group of people,” the duo wrote in the post Tuesday. “We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine – a machine whose own soldiers were told to use ‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.”
Little known outside the UK, the band had 273,000 monthly listeners on Spotify before the recent controversy. The pair have not shied away from political messaging in their song lyrics. Since 2023, Vylan has been outspoken in their support of Gazans during the Israeli war and occupation – often leading their audiences in chants of “free Palestine.”
They went further when afforded their largest stage at the Glastonbury music festival, which is annually attended by hundreds of thousands in the UK and broadcast across the country.
“But have you heard this one though,” said Bobby Vylan after leading the crowd in pro-Palestinian chants. “Death, death to the IDF!”
Vylan was scheduled to open for American rapper Grandson at the Knitting Factory on Oct. 24 and then tour with him throughout the United States. In the wake of the controversy, Grandstand stood by the pair and said the tour with them would continue if they are allowed to enter the U.S.
“From the death spiral of corporate greed and climate change to the genocide of Palestinian lives, the music and the artists are not the problem. We are symptoms of a sick world,” Grandson wrote Monday on Instagram. “As a Jewish artist I am deeply offended by the conflation of criticism against a military force known for their indiscriminate violence with antisemitism.”
As of Wednesday, sales for the Grandson performance in Spokane were still available on the Knitting Factory website but Bob Vylan was no longer advertised as the opening act.
Spokane Knitting Factory general manager Kent Shelton said the decision to continue the performance would be made by the music venue chain’s national office, but noted the local venue has been inundated with emails and calls to cancel the performance.
A request for comment from Knitting Factory Entertainment was not returned by Wednesday evening.