The devil may famously have the best tunes, but when it comes to big politically-leaning music events in the US in 2026, well, it seems the progressives have the bigger bookings. Or at least the ones less prone to chaotic withdrawals.
This is a tale of two high-profile events playing out against the ever-charged backdrop of US politics: Freedom 250 and Power to the People.
The former is a series of concerts taking place this summer to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, including The Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
The organisation behind it is described as a ‘bipartisan nonprofit’, but it was also launched by the current US president, and that political link – and the backlash from some fans – has led a number of artists to pull out in recent days.
Martina McBride, The Commodores, Young MC, Bret Michaels and Morris Day and The Time have all withdrawn from the concert, with several referencing their concerns in their announcements.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” wrote McBride on Instagram. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party,” was the line from The Commodores.
“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” wrote Young MC. Michaels claimed that “what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be part of”.
Who is left on the bill? Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory, although the latter’s Freedom Williams expressed his own anger about the miscommunication, while the group’s original co-founder – who isn’t involved – is on the warpath against Williams in turn.
(Oh, and for an extra layer of spice/confusion, the actual original singers for Milli Vanilli – the ones who infamously were not credited on the releases – have made it clear that they’re not involved in the Great American State Fair booking.)
While all of this plays out, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello has announced plans for his own ‘Power to the People’ festival in October, describing it as “a celebration of peace, justice, solidarity, music and community action”.
The lineup already includes Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Joan Baez, Cypress Hill, The Linda Lindas and Dave Matthews, and the event will also be taking place in the DC area – with a portion of ticket sales going to pro-democracy organisations VoteRiders and HeadCount.
The timing and partners is significant, coming shortly before mid-term elections in the US that are shaping up to be a hugely significant – but also polarising – moment for the country’s political culture.
‘Artists should stay out of politics,’ is a familiar phrase, often deployed by people cross about musicians opposed to their political leaning having their say, but curiously relaxed about those who agree with them doing it.
Yet the news around Freedom 250 and Power to the People shows two things. First, that there are plenty of artists who DO want to stay out of politics – and resent being pulled into it, especially if they feel misled into that.
And second, that there are plenty of other artists brushing off stay-in-your-lane criticism in 2026 and upping their activism and advocacy even more in response to current events. It’s going to be an interesting summer.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source musically.com ’
