Artists billed to play Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair have started backing out this week after saying the event was not what they were told it was. Martina McBride said she had been assured it was a nonpartisan celebration of all 50 states, then said what performers were told changed just as the show was coming together.
The withdrawals landed as interest in the Freedom 250 concert lineup grew around the country’s 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, when celebrations are being organized nationwide. Freedom 250 was created by the Trump administration as a public-private partnership to plan and fund anniversary events, while America250 supports the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, the nonprofit tied to the federal body established by law in 2016 to orchestrate the milestone.
Young MC said on social media Wednesday that the artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. McBride was blunter about the shift. She said she was assured the show was “a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” but that “yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”
That leaves Freedom 250 trying to hold together a lineup for one of the showcase events planned around America’s semiquincentennial while also answering the question that matters most to the performers who walked away: what, exactly, were they signing up for? Rachel Reisner said Friday that Freedom 250 is “a nonpartisan organization singularly focused on celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and bringing Americans together around this historic milestone,” and added that its work has reflected the “unifying spirit” of the moment.
The gap between that message and the artists’ accounts is the story now. Freedom 250 said the event was not meant to be political, but the withdrawals suggest some performers believed the political involvement was not properly disclosed before they were booked. The final Great American State Fair lineup has not been confirmed, and that uncertainty now hangs over a celebration meant to project unity, not confusion.
