Riccardo Dwyer

Death affects people in different ways. Wallis Bird had been lucky enough not to have been touched by it for most of her life. That was until December 2023, when the news broke that Mayo-born musician Kevin Ryan, her closest collaborator and best friend, died suddenly in Tenerife. “We lived together, we knew each other inside out,” says Bird, who’s noticeably emotional but still chatty over a video call from Berlin.

Let’s address the Foo Fighting elephant in the room. Violet Grohl is Dave Grohl’s daughter. If you want to know what she thinks about being called a Nepo Baby, you’re late, because the 19-year-old has already said she doesn’t give a shit. More or less. “Obviously, doors are open for me because of my last name,” is what she actually told the Forty-Five last month.

Does an artist have to be politically engaged? How important is it for them to be on the side of the oppressed? Is it their responsibility to speak out? With the explosion of wars taking place in different parts of the world, and the increasingly divisive nature of contemporary politics, this is a subject of intensifying debate. Some artists reckon they shouldn’t have to bend to pressure and make performative gestures just because they’re well-known.