In honor of the country’s 250th anniversary, the Trump administration has set out to throw America’s biggest birthday bash yet—but it might be short on music.
Earlier this week, Freedom 250—the nonpartisan group tasked with organizing events in honor of 250 years of independence—announced a concert series lineup for its flagship event, the Great American State Fair.
But less than 48 hours after the announcement, most of the announced artists have backed out.
The 16-day festival is to be hosted on the National Mall, featuring exhibits from 56 states and territories, similar to a World’s Fair, running from June 25 through July 10.
The fair has gained attention for its extravagance, including 110-foot Ferris wheel, and its ties to the president, but is now making headlines for a scarce artist lineup.
The initial announcement teased nine artists who would play across various days, including Martina McBride, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, The Commodores, Morris Day & The Time, Bret Michaels, and Flo Rida.
As of publication, six have stepped down from performing.
Artists claim they signed up for a non-political event
The artists who backed out include Milli Vanilli, Martina McBride, Young MC, the Commodores, Morris Day & The Time, and Bret Michaels, with many of them pointing out that they allegedly were not made aware the event was political.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride said via social media.
Michaels shared a similar note, saying “unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”
The Milli Vanilli situation added its own layer of confusion online. One of the two faces of Milli Vanilli, Fab Morvan, confirmed that he will be performing at the event. However, the band’s real vocalists spoke out and stated they will not be performing.
“Others using the name ‘Milli Vanilli’ that appear on the advertisement should be considered a tribute band with no association vocally or musically to our sound or songs,” a statement said via X.
While the artist behind C+C Music Factory has not yet backed out, he did post a 7-minute video defending himself from criticism, in which he also said he “doesn’t fuck with Trump.” He also said that connections between the festival and the president were not disclosed to him.
Flo Rida has not spoken out since the wave of dropouts, either in favor or against the festival, and is still slated to appear.
Fast Company reached out to the Freedom 250 task force for comment.
Performer exodus quickly becomes a meme
The shrinking lineup has not gone unnoticed online. The dropout announcements have become their own sort of meme, with users taking to social media to post fake versions of the flurry of announcements.
“Marty McFly’s band The Pinheads has confirmed they will NOT be playing the Freedom 250 concert,” a user posted on Threads, referencing the fictional protagonist of the Back to the Future franchise.
“Rick Astley has pulled out of the Freedom 250 concert series. He gave up,” another said, a riff on the artist’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”—a longstanding meme.
A user replied, “Journey also pulled out. They Stopped Believing.”
