This presentation explores how Irish republicans have used ‘rebel songs’ as a means to resist the hegemonic power of the British state. Focusing on the contemporary scene in Belfast, it examines how rebel songs offer audiences access to an identity rooted in complex notions of resistance, while exploring the ongoing repurposing of such songs in new political contexts. Drawing on interviews and participant observation conducted during a decade of fieldwork, the presentation offers a detailed account of the role performed by republican audiences, their having the power to authenticate both the musicians on stage and those commemorated within the song, as well as their fellow audience members, and how this is aided by the stewardship of key listeners who are among the most vocal and performative within the scene. Ultimately, the presentation outlines how, in the absence of a thirty-two-county state, Irish republicans use music to construct their own Irish nation through an emotional appeal to public memory, a distinct pantheon of heroes, and the commemoration of important republican events. In so doing, the presentation connects with ongoing debates around the politics of commemoration in Northern Ireland, while contributing to developing theorisations of resistance and the study of ‘ethnomusicology in times of trouble’.