Turnstile have spoken out about the “heightened state violence” in America, after winning two trophies at this year’s Grammy Awards.
The Baltimore rockers were nominated in an impressive five categories ahead of the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday (February 1), and on the night were named as winners of Best Rock Album for their ‘Never Enough’ record, as well as for Best Metal Performance with ‘Birds’.
While they did not take an overtly-political stance when accepting the award on stage, the band did share another statement on Instagram after the event, thanking fans for their support and calling out the tumultuous political climate in America.
“On Sunday our band won two Grammys for Best Rock Album & Best Metal Performance. We never thought we’d be in these rooms, but we are very grateful to be here,” the band wrote.
“This band has never been about the individual, but rather about a collective searching for a common thread in a world where those threads are being hidden from us… The world likes to tell us who we are and what we’re not, but the truth is we belong to nothing and we belong to everyone.”
They continued, speaking about the issues they see in America and in other countries: “We’re existing in a time of heightened state violence. We are watching people be pushed out of their homes here in America, in Palestine, in Sudan, in Iran, everywhere, as if they don’t belong to them. As if we don’t belong to each other.”
“Music is a vehicle for voices that are buried, that are searching, that are alien. Turnstile has always existed as an alien thing,” they added, before sharing their thanks to fans, family, the organisers of the Grammys and more.
“Thank you to everyone who has allowed this band to be a mirror for this community. Thank you,” they concluded.
Turnstile’s ‘Never Enough’ album was ranked at Number Eight on NME’s list of the Best Songs Of 2025, and the ‘Look Out For Me’ single made its way to Number 11 on the ranking of our Best Songs Of The Year too.
The comments from Turnstile come after their ex-guitarist, Brady Ebert, shared a now-deleted comment criticising his former bandmates and accusing them of not being authentic when speaking out against political issues.
“No one in Turnstile cares at all about ethics or social issues in general, they’re just pandering to their audience,” he alleged after seeing that the group had outwardly called to “abolish ICE” (via Vice). Turnstile have not yet responded to the comments from Ebert publicly.
As well as Turnstile, other big winners at the 2026 Grammys included Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean – the latter of whom picked up the Best New Artist statue. See the full list of winners here.
While accepting their awards, both Bad Bunny and Eilish called out ICE, and Olivia Dean seemed to make a jab at US President Donald Trump.
Elsewhere on the night, Spiritbox performed a searing rendition of ‘Soft Spine’, and other performances came from Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Tyler, The Creator, and Lola Young.
The organisers also came under fire for omitting Mastodon’s Brent Hinds from its ‘In Memoriam’ tribute this year.
