INCLUSION AS ACTION: WHY FONTAINES D.C. JUST RAISED THE BAR FOR REVOLUTION |

A New Sound for a New System: Why Revolution Demands More Than Reform

So here we are. On the brink of something, something that, for once, feels to be more than rhetoric and placards. With Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana building a new political movement on the basis of justice and at the forefront of working-class voices, it finally feels like we’re not merely speaking of change, we’re constructing it. And by that, I don’t mean polite, incremental change. I mean facing down capitalism, head-on. No sugarcoating the pill. No pretending to be against while tiptoeing around the foundations. This is about challenging the system and ripping out its rot.

Zarah nicely said it:

“Billionaires already have three parties fighting for them. It’s time the rest of us had one.”

That is a call to arms and a reminder that no revolution that is worth its salt is won by half-measures. And this one? It’s brewing.

But if politics is the skeleton, then music can be the muscle. Think about it, music has always been at the heart of resistance. It’s the beat of protest, the song of dissent, the megaphone of the voiceless. The proper song at the proper time doesn’t simply spark debate, it mobilises.

Fontaines D.C. who are right now playing Finsbury Park didn’t merely recently play at Roskilde. They shared the mic.

By bringing Palestinian activists on stage and having them lead chants first in Arabic, then in English, they established a precedent that counts. Not just for visibility, but for what we call real solidarity. It wasn’t about aesthetics. It was about strategy. It said: we’re not here to talk for you, we’re here to step aside and make room for you to be heard.

And let’s get real? That policy, inclusion as action, is what we’re gonna have to have going forward. Simple to speak the right words when the movement is at its highest. But the doing of keeping Palestine at the forefront even when the algorithm’s shifted is another thing altogether. I’m not saying bands have gone quiet, not by a long shot. But we gotta ensure the platform doesn’t become a revolving spotlight that fades from the original voices. Those who’ve endured it and those who are enduring it.

More artists are joining in, and it’s wonderful. More voices, more traction, more communal fire. But there is power in asking the tougher questions: Who is being heard? Who is being drowned out by good intentions? Fontaines D.C. have mapped out what inclusion is intentional, unflinching, and generous.

And with a political party arising that wants to take on capitalism directly not just cover it up with progressive boilerplate, we need art in the equation. Picture:

Teach-ins as concerts.
Double-duty reels that serve as rallying cries.
Lyrics that reference colonialism, borders, billionaires.
Artists turning down brand collaborations that don’t align with their politics.
Music festivals centered on freedom, not sponsorship deals.

This is not simply cultural. It’s insurgent. Music is not revolution’s background noise. It’s the pulse. It’s the beat that keeps us going when headlines try to beat us up. For this movement to be capable of forming something sustainable, it has to be as visionary as it has to be courageous. And that means more collaboration and coverage with people like Palestinian artists Sol Band, whose music documents trauma, happiness, and endurance from Gaza, but leading the way as co-producers with rights and agency.

That means building places where resistance is not episodic, and solidarity is not fleeting. It’s deep-seated. So yes this is not the moment for neutrality. It’s the moment for clarity, for noise, for outrage. Capitalism is not going to turn itself back around, nor colonialism, surveillance, or censorship. But if the right people are yelling, if the right music is ringing, and if the right actions are resonating, we might just reimagine the possible.

Photos Kevinthor