And Then There Were Three: Musical Acts Keep Bailing on Trump’s ‘Freedom 250’ Concert Series 2026

Balgarianovinite.com

Screenshot via X.

And then there were three…

The musical lineup for President Donald Trump’s “Freedom 250” concert series, marketed as the “Great American State Fair,” has been remarkably hard to keep up-to-date. Just one day after it was announced, two-thirds of the musical acts have dropped out — some even saying they had no idea they were performing at this event or were misled about it being “political.”

The announcement itself raised eyebrows immediately, with a list full of bands, rappers, and singers who mostly peaked before Gen Xers were copying Jennifer Aniston’s “Rachel” haircut from Friends (I’m allowed to make that joke. I’m a Gen Xer who watched every episode of Friends and made the ill-advised decision to get that haircut. It did not work on me.)

A closer look at the full graphic:

Screenshot via X.

The listed performers include:

Vanilla Ice: “Ice Ice Baby”and “Play That Funky Music” were released in 1990 and the vast majority of Americans will strain to remember another song title.

Young MC: His biggest hit, “Bust a Move,” was released in 1989. He hasn’t charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 since the early ’90s.

C+C Music Factory: “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” debuted in 1990. One of the two co-founders, David Cole, died in 1995. The other, Robert Clivillés, is 61 and hasn’t been active with the group since the mid-1990s. The group went on hiatus in 1996, came back to release a few songs, collaborations, and produce work for other musicians from 2010 to 2011 before breaking up again. In 2003, Freedom Williams, who was the lead rapper for C + C Music Factory’s biggest hits, acquired the federal trademark to use the group’s name; Clivillés has bitterly denounced this as Williams trying to “profit/steal and distort from our hard worked & earned history.”

Milli Vanilli: After the stress and humiliation of being outed for lip-syncing, one half of the duo, Rob Pilatus, ended his life. Surviving bandmate Fab Morvan is the one on the “Freedom 250” poster.

The Commodores: Peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Lionel Ritchie, the group’s most famous member, left the group in the early 1980s. The only original member remaining is William King, who is 77 years old.

Morris Day & The Time: Lead singer Morris Day is 69 years old. The band’s biggest hits were in the early 1980s; they last released music in 2011.

Flo Rida: One of two exceptions to the distant past tense fame of the rest of the lineup. Dropped a slew of hits in the 2000s and 2010s, both on his own and collaborating with other chart-topping musicians. Last studio album was 2012 and his last EP was 2015. He has continued to regularly release singles but hasn’t charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 since 2016.

Bret Michaels: He’s the frontman of Poison, but the band (which peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s) wasn’t listed as joining him.

Martina McBride: She is the second exception to the past tense fame of this list, steadily continuing to rack up Grammy nominations, and nominations and wins for a slew of Country Music Association awards, CMT Video awards, and American Music Awards from the 1990s through this decade.

Unsurprisingly, the lineup drew swift and vicious online mockery for the largely outdated list, for offering The Commodores without Ritchie, Milli Vanilli and C + C Music Factory unfortunately deprived of key members who had died, and for the overall impression this was a ’90s reunion tour.

And then the musicians began fleeing for the exits. Credit to NOTUS reporter Torrie Herrington’s puntastic headline, “Blame It on the Reign: Music Acts Exit State Fair,” riffing on one of the Milli Vanilli tracks that Morvan and Pilatus lip-synced.

Morris Day has been reported as the first to drop out, posting on Instagram, “Contrary to Rumor, Morris Day & The Time Will Not Be Performing At The “GREAT AMERICAN STATE FAIR,” along with a “” graphic and a caption that read, “It’s A No For Me”

Young MC was also out within hours, writing a Facebook post in all caps to make sure people saw it, “I HAVE INFORMED MY AGENTS THAT I WILL NOT BE PERFORMING AT THE FREEDOM 250 EVENT.”

“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he continued. “And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed’. I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.”

Williams of C + C Music Factory shared his frustration in a seven-minute long video where he described confronting his agent about being unaware of the political nature of the event and Trump’s involvement, saying “You didn’t say nothing about Trump. You didn’t mention Trump.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Freedom Williams (@official.freedom.williams)

Williams did hedge his bets slightly, expressing irritation at people trying to tell him what to do, saying the day he lets that happen will be the day he “dies” and so he “just might” change his mind and decide to perform.

Before it was clear Williams was dropping out of the event, Clivillés took another rhetorical swing at him in an Instagram post, accusing Williams of having “done his best to misuse our name, C&C Music Factory, which means Clivilles & Cole Music Factory.”

“Freedom Williams should not be using this name to tour or represent what this group stands for,” Clivillés continued. “Any political or religious show or comment Freedom Williams makes regarding any shows, views or opinions Freedom Williams makes as an individual … [and have] absolutely nothing to do with C&C Music Factories [sic] viewpoint at all.”

“The group stands for love and peace of all people globally and neutrality. We take the side of love and peace always. Please go to his page and vent,” Clivillés urged his followers.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Robert Clivilles (@robertclivilles)

Milli Vanilli released a statement bashing the inclusion of their name by saying that the original members of the band (including Morvan, Pilatus, and the ones who actually sang their songs for the recordings) were not involved and “will NOT be performing” at the event.

“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,” the statement added.

Another member of Milli Vanilli, singer Jodie Rocco, told the AP that the event organizers never reached out to her, her sister Linda Rocco, or any of the other members of the group, describing herself as “shocked” to see the name on the list.

The Commodores were out Thursday afternoon too, announcing in an Instagram post that they “will not be performing at the Great American State Fair” because “[o]ur music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”

“We support the betterment of all Americans,” the message concluded.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Commodores (@thecommodores)

And then McBride decided her boots were made for walkin’ as well, posting a statement on X accusing the event organizers of being “misleading” in how they presented it to her, claiming it was “a nonpartisan event.”

The text of McBride’s post:

I would like to talk to you and clear the air. I will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading. I asked lots of questions and was assured that this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states. In my mind I thought this was a great way to celebrate the states and also bring people together in the way that only music can. 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. Sounds fun, right? Wholesome, even. Yesterday, things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.

I’ve spent my entire career singing songs about real people with real issues. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be a voice for those who have felt like they didn’t have one. It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the D.C. area very soon.

– MM

As for Vanilla Ice, he’s still in, posting a video on Tik Tok expressing his enthusiasm for celebrating America turning “two-fiddy” at this “magical” event.

@vanillaiceme This is awesome. America is turning 250 years old. I’m honored to do this concert and get everybody dancing, That’s what it’s all about. We are all one. This is to bring everyone together and celebrate the birthday of our country. And all of the soldiers, veterans, army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Police, EMS, Firefighters, space Force, Coast Guard. thank you for your service. Thank you for our Freedom. Happy birthday America. #Amer#America250py#happybirthdayi#America ♬ Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice

“I’m super honored to do this concert with everybody,” he said. “We’re gonna bring back the ’90s — put your dancing shoes on, you’ll be happy, trust me, it’s all about enjoying the great times from 250 years, from George Washington to now, and all the presidents and everybody in between.”

“This is gonna be epic!” he said, adding that he was “proud to be an American and proud and honored for this event,” along with quoting a few of his own lyrics.

So far, Flo Rida and Michaels have remained mum as their fellow performers have dropped out.

Flo Rida, whose real name is Tramar Lacel Dillard, has posted several tweets Wednesday and Thursday about his concert tour, new songs, and music videos, but nothing about the “Freedom 250” concert. His fans, however, have not been silent, posting dozens of replies to his most recent posts demanding to know if he plans to perform for “Trump’s state fair.”

Michaels hasn’t tweeted in a few days, has nothing about the “Great American State Fair” on his personal website bretmichaels.com, and his recent Facebook and Instagram posts are about his current tour, with a spattering of commenters asking if he is still in.

The post And Then There Were Three: Musical Acts Keep Bailing on Trump’s ‘Freedom 250’ Concert Series first appeared on Mediaite.

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