Boardmasters licence "under threat" over Bob Vylan performance

Boardmasters is at risk of losing its licence this week following an appearance from punk-rap duo Bob Vylan at this year’s event.

According to the BBC, the Cornwall festival faces a review tomorrow (September 17), during which its future will be debated following an application from Reform's County Organiser for East Cornwall Andrea Lovett in July.

Lovett claimed that Bob Vylan’s appearance at the festival "undermines the licensing objectives", writing: “A Cornwall Council health and safety officer raised 'serious concerns' about crowd management, traffic and welfare facilities being 'overwhelmed',” adding that the duo’s appearance would only "heighten these risks”.

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The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said that “hundreds” of people urged the festival to ban Bob Vylan from performing following a “controversial” set at Glastonbury 2025, which sparked a police investigation after the duo led chants of "death to the IDF".

Despite this, the LDRS acknowledged that Bob Vylan’s Boardmasters set went ahead without any issues, adding that the festival had “no power” to pull the duo’s performance ahead of this year’s festival.

In the application, Lovett also noted crowd control issues at the festival last year, which led to a "public protection" probe after multiple people were hospitalised in a crowd crush.

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“Boardmasters Festival has a history of safety and crowd management challenges, notably in 2024 when a crowd surge resulted in seven hospitalisations,” she said.

The Cornwall Council will decide whether to revoke the festival’s licence, alter the festival’s conditions, or suspend its licence for up to three months, per the BBC.

The BBC also notes that tomorrow’s hearing could only be held after the festival – which took place from August 8 - 10 attracting over 50,000 people – due to legal timeframes.

[Via BBC]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter