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 May 2025.
1. DUSTY THE KID - WHERE THE WILD BIRDS CALL
Workers marched worldwide for International Workers' Day on May 1. In the US, May Day marchers also demanded immigrant rights and denounced president Donald Trump. The same day, US folk musician Dusty The Kid released his new LP, which is packed with pro-union lyrics. On "Hatfield's Wake", he sings the praises of West Virginia law enforcement officer Sidney Hatfield, who fought for workers during the Coal Wars of the early 20th century. "Oh, all you hard rock miners, come while away the night," he sings. "Keep the candles in the caverns 'till the dawn. We'll drink another measure, for tomorrow we must fight, as the soul of Sidney Hatfield marches on. He was union bold and brave, and tomorrow we must lay him in the grave." A fortnight later, Australia's newly re-elected, supposedly pro-worker Labor government continued its war on unions, sacking a CFMEU secretary despite no allegations of corruption. LISTEN>>>
2. PEGGY SEEGER - TELEOLOGY
The day after May Day, revered protest singer Peggy Seeger released what she called her "final album", at the age of 89. Seeger, the sister of famed folk musician Pete Seeger, said: "The closest I come to folk on my new album is 'Sit Down', written in the 1930s by Maurice Sugar about people downing tools. I remade the song for now, because if all the key workers at the bottom of the economic pile just withdrew their labour, things would change." Days later, data showed that the world's richest person, Elon Musk, had delivered only 0.25% of his promised US$2 trillion in federal spending cuts with his Department Of Government Efficiency. That showed he had spectacularly failed to do his job - the same reason for which he was supposedly sacking workers. The next day, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates joined others in saying Musk was “killing the world’s poorest children” by using his job to cut foreign aid. LISTEN>>>
3. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS
US rocker Bruce Springsteen, who released a whole album of Pete Seeger songs in 2006, kicked off his latest tour on May 14 by laying into Musk and Trump. "In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death," he told his audience in England. "They’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers... our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government." Trump replied that Springsteen "ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare’. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!” He then posted a doctored video of himself hitting Springsteen with a golf ball on stage, making him fall over. Six days later, Springsteen released his anti-Trump speech as part of a powerful new live EP. LISTEN>>>
4. SUZANNE VEGA - FLYING WITH ANGELS
In his speech, Springsteen also said: "In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent." A fortnight earlier, US hit-maker Suzanne Vega addressed the same issue on her new album, released on May 2. The first three songs - “Speaker’s Corner”, “Flying with Angels” and “Witch” - were inspired by Vega’s husband suffering from multiple strokes after contracting COVID and losing his speech. “My husband was a First Amendment lawyer and a spoken word poet,” she said. “The idea that he would suddenly have this affliction, at this moment when we need First Amendment protection, I couldn’t get over the irony of that. I pushed myself to include these topics because he wasn’t able to do it. He’s not able to do what he normally does, which is protect protesters. Instead, he’s learning to speak again from the beginning.” LISTEN>>>
5. PAUL CARGNELLO - COMBAT BLUES
Trump held a White House meeting with Canada's new leader, Mark Carney, on May 6 after repeatedly threatening take over his country. "As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale," Carney told Trump. "And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, it's not for sale. Won't be for sale ever." Asked about the subject later, Trump said: "Never say never." Carney replied: "Never, never, never." A day earlier, Canadian protest musician Paul Cargnello released his latest LP. On the apt "Fascists In Our Midst", he sings: "I feel like I am no longer able, we got fascists feasting at our table. They knocked at our door, then we let 'em in. Scuffing our floors, drinking our gin. Now we're hanging out, like a punching bag, while the dignitaries of greed rally around a flag. Now it all comes down to this, we got fascists in our midst." LISTEN>>>
6. PROPAGANDHI - AT PEACE
Cargnello's fellow Canadian musicians Propagandhi released their new album on May 2. “We’ve always advocated for radical social change,” said the band, who are famed for their anti-capitalist hardcore punk. “We probably will get there, but unfortunately at this point it’s unlikely to be from a non-violent mass mobilisation of the citizenry acting in solidarity to abolish corporate authoritarian rule. It'll probably be through ecological collapse, global thermonuclear war or plague. The writing appears to be on the wall.” The same day, they said they were cancelling all US tour dates due to "circumstances beyond our control". The move came as many other musicians rethought US tours amid aggressive border controls. A day earlier, Canadian rapper Lee Reed released his new LP, attacking "cops, bosses, landlords, bankers, billionaires and the electoral sham that keeps this whole death dance in step". LISTEN>>>
7. GAMA BOMB - NECRONOMICON AUTOMATON
That death dance continued with Australia's general election on May 3. Voters rejected the pro-nuclear policies of opposition leader Peter Dutton, but re-elected pro-fossil fuel prime minister Anthony Albanese instead. Days earlier, thrash band Gama Bomb, who cite anti-nuclear band Nuclear Assault as a huge influence, attacked such politics as they promoted their new album. "I sing anti-fascist songs," said singer Philly Byrne. "Why aren’t more metal musicians angry about the state of the world?" Days later, the Australian town of Taree was hit with a so-called "one-in-500-year flood", killing five people and destroying more than 800 homes. The deluge came as US musician Marc Ribot released his new LP, which addresses such floods in the song "When The World's On Fire". The same day, protest folk duo My Politic released their new album, which cites climate-induced floods on the song "From The Early Days". LISTEN>>>
8. CHASING GHOSTS - THERAPY
Albanese handed the Pope an Aboriginal artwork at the Vatican on May 19. In return, the pontiff pointedly gave him an artwork depicting the impact of climate change. It appeared to leave little impression. A week later, Albanese approved Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas project until 2070. The scheme is set to unleash a giant "climate bomb" and destroy ancient Aboriginal rock art. His reason? "You will lose community support if people walk into this room here and flick on the switch and the lights don’t go on." Three days before Albanese's meeting with the Pope, Aboriginal-led punks Chasing Ghosts released their new album. Speaking about its song "Amnesia Everybody", they said: "This song references the stark realities and historical data of this country’s background; that 50% of Australian massacres were led by colonial police and often murderous politicians." Little has changed. LISTEN>>>
9. WITCH SPIT - PUBLIC EXECUTION
The effects of such politics could be seen on May 5, when a climate change-induced algal bloom brought on a "marine apocalypse" on South Australia's coast. A week earlier, South Australian feminist punks Witch Spit released their new album, the aptly titled Public Execution. On it, the duo create a huge sound as they rage against the patriarchy. "You’re not listening to a word we spit," they seethe on album opener "SHOVE UR OPINION". "You’re too busy checking out our tits. Have you ever seen a pair of tits before? Eyes up here mate, fist in your jaw!" Days later, feminists in the band's city of Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide joined nationwide protests demanding government action to stop domestic and family violence. Meanwhile, protests were held across Aoteaora/New Zealand after the right-wing Coalition government wound back women's rights by amending the country’s Equal Pay Act on May 6. LISTEN>>>
10. DANNY JIN - DREAM...
A packed forum in Naarm/Melbourne discussed "feminism in the time of Gaza" on May 16. A day earlier, protests were held worldwide to mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, the day in 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their land by the new state of Israel. A few weeks earlier, Japanese-Palestinian rapper Danny Jin, the Tokyo-born descendant of Nakba survivors, released his new album. Discussing its song "Boycott", he said: "A boycott is accessible. In Japan, protest culture doesn’t exist the way it does elsewhere, so it’s a harder task to take to the streets. The majority of Japanese people don’t even engage with their own political landscape, let alone Palestine’s... My father is Palestinian. My grandparents were made refugees by the Nakba.” The album came as Israel's genocide became so repulsive that even western media and governments began turning against it. 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 the Andrew Tate-baiting "Small Dick Energy".]
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Read about more political albums.
Stream our new “Best protest songs of 2025” playlist on Spotify. This replaces the previous “Political albums” playlist, that was getting too big at more than 700 albums.