Why Even Musical Acts Who Supported Trump Won’t Play The Inauguration
The word desperate is being used to describe the search to get someone, anyone, with a recognizable name to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration. While many acts just said no thanks from the jump, others said maybe, only to pull out after their fans threatened to boycott their concerts and music. Tenor Andrea Bocelli pulled out, the Beach Boys are said to be a firm maybe, and as of this post, the only people singing are a 16-year-old talent show winner, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and dancing will be the Rockettes, reportedly short one showgirl.
Mike Love of the Beach Boys has long been a friend of Donald Trump, and the current incarnation of the band, minus Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, have performed at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, says the Inquisitr. But with the inauguration just a few weeks away, the Trump camp is looking to put a big name in ink. Though Kanye West sounds like a really bad fit, he seems to be the only solo artist who was comfortable hanging out with Trump post-election. While country musicians should be a good fit, even Garth Brooks said no thank you.
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Rolling Stone is reporting that even musicians who supported Donald Trump, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hank Williams, Jr., and Kings of Leon are saying no thanks to an inauguration invitation. Ken Levitan, who is a top music manager, says that the calls from the Trump camp sound desperate.
“We’ve gotten calls that almost sound a little bit desperate: ‘Does anybody want to perform?’ At this point, we haven’t had anybody that has any desire to perform at the inauguration.”
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Levitan says that even musicians who are publicly conservative don’t want to be associated with the media circus, which seems to stick to anyone who even meets with Donald Trump.
“Even if you’re a Trump supporter, you’ve got to look at how he plays the media [and] the public, in terms of how he attacks and twists things around. I’ve got to think there’s a fear of talking about things and working with him. I do know some of the very conservative [artists] have no desire to do it…. [They] just don’t want to be involved in the circus — it’s a media circus, and not necessarily in a good way.”
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Simon Renshaw, who manages the Dixie Chicks, says that even though the Trump camp is saying publicly that they don’t care who plays at the inauguration, that’s not really true. The Beach Boys have played for several other Republican presidents, but none threatened the band’s livelihood the way Trump does.
“They want to be cool and they want to be hip, but the problem is, they’re not, and no one’s going to go along with the charade. And the stuff they could get, they’re looking at it and going, ‘We’re going to have Ted Nugent and Kid Rock — oh my God, that doesn’t look like an inauguration, that’s going to look like a bar-room redneck brawl.'”
Several artists who publicly said they were pro-Trump during the election, like Gene Simmons from Kiss, and Loretta Lynn, have not even responded to the invitation to sing at the Trump inaugural. Lee Greenwood, who sings the song, “God Bless the USA” and has performed for Republican presidents since Reagan says he will give the Trump camp an answer soon.
“The information that you requested about me being at Trump’s inauguration is not confirmed yet. I’m sure we’ll know shortly.”
But even if it’s tough finding musical acts for an inauguration, it should be easier to find former presidents to come, right? But Slate says so far, only one past president has sent in his RSVP, and that is ironically Jimmy Carter, and he is going to attend. It makes sense that Bill Clinton would be reluctant, but what about the Bushes?
George H.W. Bush, 92, has given his regrets, and George W. Bush’s reps say he will not answer until after the first of the year 2017.
“We simply don’t discuss his schedule this far in advance.”
Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to say that he didn’t want any of the people who have rejected him anyway.
“The so-called ‘A’ list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!”
Do you think that any true big name acts will perform at the Inauguration? Do you think that Beach Boys will say yes or no?
[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
