Do you think there’s no good protest music these days? So did I, until I started looking for it. Every month, I listen to it all, then select the best that relates to that month’s political news. Here’s the round-up for March 2026.
1. WAR CHILD RECORDS - HELP(2)
At the start of March, Melania Trump became the first first lady to preside over a UN Security Council meeting, where she discussed children in conflict. The irony was gobsmacking. Just days earlier, "credible evidence" began emerging that her husband, US President Donald Trump, had "orally raped" a 13-year-old girl, then punched her in the head. Seemingly taking a tip from former US President Bill Clinton, who distracted the media by launching missile strikes on the Middle East when he was facing a sex scandal, Trump then launched a war on Iran by killing 175 people, mostly children, with a strike on a school. Presciently, on March 6, War Child Records released their latest fundraising LP, which features many big stars, from Oasis to Olivia Rodrigo. LISTEN>>>
2. GHAIS GUEVARA - GOYARD & THE KAYFABE REVEAL
Australia's Labor government instantly endorsed Trump's illegal war, backed by a compliant media. On March 8, The Australian Financial Review's deputy opinion editor said Trump could get the Nobel Peace Prize for bombing Iran. Two days earlier, US rapper Ghais Guevara released his new LP, which samples a reporter praising Trump for invading Venezuela. "I was incredibly impressed with what you told me about how you, the president, negotiated with parties there on the ground, particularly with parties who were going to be in charge after [Nicolas] Maduro was removed," he says. Days later, The Sydney Morning Herald asked Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea how he felt about the Iran war, as his wife is of Iranian descent. "Every time the US has invaded a country in the Middle East, it’s been left in complete fucking chaos," said Flea, who pleads for peace on his new jazz album, released on March 27. LISTEN>>>
3. DAVID ROVICS - INSURRECTION ACT
That endless chaos has been tirelessly documented by diehard US protest singer David Rovics, who released his latest album on March 1. "The flag of empire never so nakedly unfurled as the US goes to war with the world," he sings on its closing track, backed by his singing partner - and long-time Green Left contributor - Kamala Emanuel. Eighteen of the album's 20 tracks were written using generative artificial intelligence. They were previously released by AI Tsuno, Rovics' controversial AI side project that "people love to hate and hate to love", as he puts it. On March 24, he announced AI Tsuno's latest album, Epstein Empire, which focuses on the US-Iran war. "The Republicans and Democrats calling for solving their problems with another war," asserts its title track. "Clinton and Trump and little girls, time for projectiles to be hurled, somewhere, pick a spot to raze, then receive the press’s praise." LISTEN>>>
4. SOUTH SIDE KINGS - STRAIGHT OUTTA SHEPPARTON
In a speech to Australia's parliament on March 5, Canada's prime minister warned of AI stealing creators' work. The next day, APRA AMCOS and SOCAN, which represent musicians across Australia and Canada, said: "There is one dimension of this challenge that is uniquely shared between our two nations: the protection of Indigenous cultural intellectual property." The same day, a funeral was held for Aboriginal poet Lionel Fogarty. Twelve days later, Fogarty's modern-day equivalents, Indigenous rappers South Side Kings, released their album Straight Outta Shepparton on streaming services. "One time for all my people working nine to five," they rap. "One time for all my people trying to stay alive." Its raw, idiosyncratic, soulful sound is the antidote to the generic-sounding "AI slop" now swamping such platforms - and eating into artists' income - at the rate of more than 60,000 uploads a day. LISTEN>>>
5. WILLIAM CRIGHTON - COLONIAL DRIFT
Aboriginal peoples' rights, and the destruction of their sacred land, are front and centre on the fourth album by Australian "bush psyche" musician William Crichton, released on March 20. “There’s a lot of wisdom within Aboriginal culture that potentially wider Australia – we don't listen to enough, you know," the long-time activist said while discussing the LP. “But it’s there. And the whole idea of having a relationship with this place is so important and integral to it not destroying us." He described the album as: "A swag of songs inspired by my relationship with my big beautiful land. Things like Aboriginal lore and wisdom, colonial and convict history and the continuous fight to keep the bush healthy and the old growth forests off the back of semis and out of wood chippers.” Two days after its release, thousands of people across Australia marched to stop the logging of native forests. LISTEN>>>
6. KIM GORDON - PLAY ME
Millions of people marched for women's rights worldwide to mark International Women's Day on March 8. Five days later, Sonic Youth founder and feminist riot grrrl pioneer Kim Gordon released an innovative LP that instantly won her praise as "a rage-rap icon at 72". On "BYE BYE 25!" she mocks the US president by simply stating words that trigger Trump: “Diversity, tribal, transgender, Hispanic, green, fluoride, female." And on "DIRTY TECH" and "SQUARE JAW", Gordon slays the tech billionaires that suck up to him while she effortlessly throws out the kind of unique music their AI models cannot produce. But not all musical innovators are outright rejecting AI. Jewish "avant-pop" star Mary Ocher, who long ago fled her home country of Israel in protest at its politics, used AI to make a video accompanying her latest protest album, released on March 13. “It can be both useful and dangerous,” she said. LISTEN>>>
7. SARAH JANE MORRIS - THE SISTERHOOD 2
Pointedly released two days before International Women's Day, the new album by jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris celebrates women in music with original songs about them. On the album opener, a tribute to protest singer Peggy Seeger, Morris sings: "It's the birthright of all women to be social engineers, you sang that song for us to set us free. And with picket line before us, we'll be standing with our peers, as leaders, as thinkers, as she. And yours is the Greenham song, wherever peace is waged for the sisters' love and cups of tea. Bolt cutters, courage, tyranny engaged, oh, half of us are longing to be free." Showing what women are up against, abuse survivor and former Australian of the year Grace Tame revealed on March 12 she'd had all her speaking engagements axed. The cancellations came after prime minister Anthony Albanese labelled her "difficult" for speaking up for Palestinians. LISTEN>>>
8. JOSHUA IDEHEN - I KNOW YOU'RE HURTING, EVERYONE IS HURTING, EVERYONE IS TRYING, YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY ジョシュア アイダン
Mocking such misogyny is the new album by British-born Nigerian spoken word artist Joshua Idehen, released on March 6. On "Mum Does The Washing", which parodies its pervasiveness in all politics over a driving house beat, he says: "Liberalism: You watch your mum do the washing and feel really really bad. 'Something must be done,' you say. Something may or may not get done. Mansplaining: Your mum does the washing. You tell her how best to do the washing. You have never done the washing. Patriarchy: Your mum doesn't exist. The washing is mysteriously done. Feminism: Your mum insists you grow up and do your own washing. White feminism: Your mum hired a woman of colour to do the washing. Male feminism: That one time I did the washing, I told everybody I did the washing. I blogged about it, bragged about it, took a selfie, Insta story, went on TV, won an Oscar, went on Fortnite, did a dance. I'm an ally." LISTEN>>>
9. JOE SOLO - PUNK ROCK PREPARED US FOR THIS
Joe Solo seems like the sort of bloke who might even do his own washing as he sings about his fashion choices on his latest album, released on March 6. On "Different Like That", he reveals: "I never got branded clothing. Truth is I never could see, why you’d pay north of 10 times the value, then stand there advertising for free. They’d laugh at my ‘two-for-one T-shirt’, fixed up with a safety pin. But I’m different like that, and I don’t care if I fit in." Solo, who is actually a washing machine engineer, has built a huge audience through his activism, so it was little surprise when the LP shot up the charts. "Yes, I'm still out here fixing washing machines," he said on sharing its success. "And yes, it's more a reflection of collapsing sales of new music than it is great leaps in my popularity or new status in the annals of musical history, but fuck it, U2 and Elvis are lower than me in the charts." LISTEN>>>
10. COSMO - URBAN FOLK MUSIC
Another protest musician who has built a loyal fanbase, Welsh folk punk singer Cosmo, released his latest collection of typically strong songs on March 9. On "Heating Or Eating?!" he sings: "Got a letter from the gas board just the other day. I opened and read it, said there was something, so I threw the thing away. They want more for their pound of flesh, I wasn't in the mood. Cos if I stump up for it, I can't stump up for food... Just when I thought no more could I abide, turns out this crisis is not short of worldwide. Millions of people saying 'we don't consent'. It's time to hear the roar of the 99 per cent." The LP came as billionaire Mark Zuckerberg bought a Miami mansion seemingly to avoid the looming 5% California Billionaire Tax Act. Days later, he lost two court cases which ruled his social media firms ignored child sexual abuse on their platforms and deliberately addicted young people. LISTEN>>>
[Mat Ward has been writing for Green Left since 2009. He also wrote the book Real Talk: Aboriginal Rappers Talk About Their Music And Country and makes political music. Mat Ward's latest single is My Temu Trash Pile.]
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Read about more political albums.
Stream our new “Best protest songs of 2026” playlist. This replaces the previous “Political albums” playlist, that was getting too big at more than 700 albums.