The Prophets of Rage, a band comprised of members of Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill, performed in the protest zone of the RNC and were allowed to do so. However, in other countries, merely having a rock concert, nevertheless one expressing a political view, is illegal. One example is Iran. The BBC interviewed Rasoo, the frontman of a band called The Muckers, “one of Tehran’s leading rock bands,” who stated that “the biggest problem as a musician in Iran is that I wasn’t able to play any shows. And you can’t have fans, you can’t promote your music.” This band does not appear to be political, and most in Iran are not, but they still have problems. Wonder what they would have done with Prophets of Rage?

Photo is from a Rage Against The Machine concert, not a Prophets of Rage concert. By deep ghosh from Melbourne, VIC, Australia – big day out. RATM 28/1/2008. guilty parties (B&W), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3560134