Geese were victorious at the 2026 BRIT Awards and the band’s Max Bassin used his speech to attack ICE and call for a free Palestine.
The annual awards show went down at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday night (February 28) and the Brooklyn band beat out Haim, Tame Impala, HUNTR/X and Turnstile to take home the International Group of the Year prize.
Geese drummer Max Bassin was on hand at the ceremony to pick up the award from Cat Burns, and he gave a succinct speech that was censored on the live broadcast in the UK by ITV.
“What up the Brits!” he said. “I just want to say, free Palestine, fuck ICE, RIP Mani, let’s go Geese.”
With the show being held in Manchester – the first time in its 47-year history that it has left London – there was a special dedication to The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani later in the show, led by The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess. The Madchester legend passed away from respiratory issues in November, aged 63.
Geese released their third album, ‘Getting Killed’, in September, and it went on to be named by NME as the best album of 2025.
“Who ordered this absurd, poetic explosion of jazz, rock and noise – where Radiohead, Black Midi, The Strokes, Van Morrison, and Ukrainian choir samples collide without being crushed beneath the pretension? It’s a rare, unpredictable record that comes with such melody in the madness, control in the chaos. It’s a total thrill, but then “all people must smile in times of war”, as Winter croons on ‘100 Horses’,” wrote NME.
“‘Getting Killed’ should be enough to wake people up from their exhausted nostalgia and realise that New York – and guitar music at large – is alive and kicking down their front door. At least, it’s easily the album of the year. Stay wild and carry on.”
Last month, Geese made their Saturday Night Live debut. They were the musical guest on January 24, with Teyana Taylor as host, and performed two tracks from ‘Getting Killed’: ‘Au Pays du Cocaine’ and ‘Trinidad’.
Members of Geese, meanwhile, were spotted in the studio with musicians from Tame Impala, Pond and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in Australia this month.
It was Olivia Dean who ended up dominating the BRITs, winning four awards, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. See the full list of winners here.
