Music
Two days ago, the Trump-affiliated nonprofit Freedom 250 announced the lineup for a celebratory semiquincentennial concert series on the National Mall, branded the Great American State Fair. Its headliners included Vanilla Ice, the Commodores, Bret Michaels of Poison, Flo Rida, Martina McBride, Milli Vanilli, and the C+C Music Factory—a handful of recognizable acts, albeit ones that had their respective heydays several decades ago. But almost as soon as the names were released—and their headshots displayed on a seemingly AI-generated backdrop—musicians started dropping out, saying they hadn’t signed up for a partisan event.
One of the first to leave was Young MC, a.k.a. Grammy winner Marvin Young. The “Bust a Move” rapper said that after he learned, belatedly, that the event was “Trump-backed,” he turned down the gig. Funk singer (and Purple Rain villain) Morris Day also chimed in: “It’s a no for me.” By Friday, Michaels and McBride both announced that they were out too.
McBride, a 1990s country-pop singer, explained herself on Instagram. “I saw it as just a bigger version of so many state fairs I have performed at over the years, celebrating community and what makes each state special,” she wrote. “Sounds fun, right? Wholesome even. Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”
Apparently, these artists were surprised to discover that the group hosting the event, Freedom 250, is a private nonprofit associated with the Trump administration. President Donald Trump announced its formation in a video in December 2025; Mother Jones alleges that it was founded so that Fourth of July celebrations on public lands could go forward without congressional oversight of the group’s spending. (Vanity Fair has reached out to Freedom 250 for comment. Freedom 250 is not to be confused with America250, a separate organization which was approved by Congress.) Earlier this month, Freedom 250 hosted a controversial worship event called Rededicate 250 on the National Mall, where primarily Christian pastors and religious influencers asked the American populace to turn back to God.
This spate of dropouts isn’t the first time a Trump-affiliated concert in DC has floundered. Back in 2017, Trump struggled to attract performers for his first inauguration. At the eleventh hour, country star Toby Keith, rock band 3 Doors Down, and perennial patriot Lee Greenwood all ultimately signed on. His 2025 inauguration was a slightly different story: Carrie Underwood, Jewel, and rappers including Nelly and Snoop Dogg all performed at inauguration-related events that year. Jewel, however, apologized for her performance at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s inauguration ball.
As Trump’s approval ratings continue to spiral, it makes sense that artists may be wary of associating their brands with his co-optation of the semiquincentennial. Over the last year, a range of artists canceled planned appearances at the Kennedy Center as Trump took over its board and added his name to the building’s facade.
When signing on to public and private events, artists are usually approached through their booking agents, who present a select few requests to their clients for final approval. Some celebrities seem to be more comfortable than others with potentially “off-brand” appearances: Flo Rida, for instance, has been fairly catholic in his approach, participating in the 2021 Eurovision contest as a guest of the small landlocked nation San Marino and celebrating his 45th birthday at an event during the Salesforce Dreamforce conference.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Michaels relayed his recollection of the original pitch for the Freedom 250 series. “It was described as a celebration of our country through music and a chance to honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life,” he wrote. In the Trump era, all of these terms could reasonably be inferred to be euphemisms for “conservative”—but Michaels explained that he feels a personal connection to those communities, and didn’t immediately sense that this was a partisan event.
Eventually, though, Michaels says he realized that the Great American State Fair had “evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of” and that he had received “unfounded and unforgivable” threats after his participation was announced.
As of now, Vanilla Ice and Freedom Williams of C+C Music Factory still seem to be on board with the series. In the meantime, the organization will presumably start looking for more artists to fill out its slate. In a statement, Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner wrote, “Freedom 250 is focused on our signature celebrations and events that honor our history and engage all Americans—welcoming all who share our goal of commemorating this milestone in a way that uplifts and unites America.” Organizers for the show also told The New York Times that they are trying to persuade some performers to return.
Circumstantial evidence suggests that the planning of this concert series might have been slapdash from the beginning. The first poster for the event said that Milli Vanilli would perform, but featured a photograph of Fab Morvan—whose Grammy was stripped after it was revealed that he and his late bandmate, Robert Pilatus, had lip-synched. There seems to be some confusion about who is performing under the Milli Vanilli name. One of the original Milli Vanilli singers, Jodie Rocco, told the Associated Press that her Milli Vanilli—the group of five original vocalists—had never been invited to perform at Freedom 250. Morvan told The Guardian earlier this year, however, that he now owns the rights to the Milli Vanilli name. Rocco wrote in a statement on X, “Others using the name ‘Milli Vanilli’…should be considered a tribute band.”
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