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It was announced Wednesday that Young MC, the Commodores and Martina McBride were among the music artists slated to play the upcoming Great American State Fair. They swiftly dropped out after discovering the event is part of a larger Trump White House initiative. On Wednesday, Bruce Springsteen also announced an upcoming music event, the Power to the People festival, featuring the Foo Fighters and more. To date, no one has dropped off its roster. <\/p>\n
It was a busy week in music.<\/p>\n
The announcement<\/a> Wednesday of a concert series honoring the country\u2019s 250th anniversary prompted a swift reaction, and it wasn\u2019t from zealous fans. Within hours of the lineup reveal, multiple music acts slated to play the Great American State Fair declared they were dropping out of the 16-day event after discovering it was part of an initiative out of the Trump White House.<\/p>\n Young MC, Morris Day and Martina McBride were among those who said they would not perform at the concert series scheduled for June and July on the National Mall.<\/p>\n \u201cI have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event,\u201d \u201cBust a Move\u201d rapper Young MC, a.k.a. Marvin Young, posted<\/a> Wednesday. \u201cThe artists were never told about any political involvement with the event.\u201d<\/p>\n Day, frontman of the Prince-affiliated funk\/soul group Time, also bowed out. He simply wrote<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s a No for Me.\u201d<\/p>\n And country singer McBride described the opportunity as \u201cmisleading\u201d in a post<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n Acts who announced they would not take part in the event were still listed<\/a> as part of the lineup on Freedom 250\u2019s website as of Friday morning. Described on the website as a \u201cWorld Fair-style celebration of America\u2019\u2019s [sic] 250th birthday\u2026,\u201d the organization positions itself as \u201cnon-partisan\u201d but \u201cworking together with the White House Task Force 250.\u201d <\/p>\n The organization also says that it acts as \u201cthe official public-private partnership that connects, aligns, and amplifies national and local efforts to deliver the defining presidential moments of this anniversary year.\u201d <\/p>\n I\u2019ll give you a minute to parse that jumble of words \u2026<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another major music concert with more transparent political leanings was announced on Wednesday. Trump critics Bruce Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello revealed they\u2019re launching a Power to the People festival set for Oct. 3 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. And as of Friday, no one had dropped off its roster.<\/p>\n Springsteen and Morello are slated to headline, as are the Foo Fighters, Brittany Howard, Joan Baez and Dave Matthews.<\/p>\n Morello, who is currently on tour with Springsteen, announced the festival on-stage at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. \u201cThe Power to the People festival is about freedom, justice, equality and rock and roll,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the power everyday human beings have when they come together through music, art, community and action. We\u2019re honored to bring this incredible lineup to the D.C. area for a day that celebrates the spirit of activism, creativity and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Springsteen was more direct in his indictment of the White House and the fight to preserve democracy. \u201cThis American tragedy can only be stopped by the American people: you. There is no one coming to save us. We\u2019ve got to do it ourselves,\u201d said Springsteen on Wednesday during the sold-out tour stop in Washington, D.C. \u201cSo join us and let\u2019s fight for the America that we love. Do you hear me, Washington?\u201d<\/p>\n Power to the People is scheduled a month before the November midterms, and includes Dropkick Murphys<\/a>, Jack Black, Serj Tankian, Cypress Hill, Killer Mike, Taylor Momsen and the Linda Lindas. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the organizations VoteRiders, whose mission is to eliminate ID barriers to the ballot box so eligible voters can cast a ballot, and HeadCount, who help register voters at concerts, festivals, sports and community events.<\/p>\n Artists who had committed to playing the Freedom 250, Great American State Fair \u2014 or just pick a name already \u2014 and who swiftly dropped out when they saw it was touched by Trump, were busy this week distancing themselves from the event.<\/p>\n \u201cOur music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party,\u201d the Commodores said in a statement<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n Poison frontman Bret Michaels and \u201880s sensation Milli Vanilli were also among the acts who announced they would not be playing the event. (New incarnation of) Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco said the group had not been asked to perform, despite being announced in the lineup.<\/p>\n Artists who still appear to be part of the lineup for the curiously titled national state fair are rapper Flo-Rida and 1980s MTV staples C+C Music Factory and Vanilla Ice. The last appeared at Trump\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago.<\/p>\n Freedom 250 was reminded this week that artists have freedom too. To do or not.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n