Martina McBride says she will not perform at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair after initially believing the event was a nonpartisan celebration of all 50 states.
The country singer had been listed for the June 25 concert in Washington, D.C., but told fans she was stepping away after the event no longer matched what she said had been presented to her.
“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride wrote in a social media statement, according to Entertainment Weekly.
McBride Said She Asked Questions Before Agreeing
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McBride said she had asked “lots of questions” before agreeing to the performance and had been assured the event was meant to celebrate all 50 states. She said she pictured something closer to the state fairs she has performed at throughout her career.
“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,” she wrote, according to Entertainment Weekly.
McBride said that changed after the lineup was announced. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening,” she wrote.
She Said Fans Should Not Feel Abandoned
McBride also addressed fans who may have been upset to see her name connected to the event. She said it bothered her that anyone moved by her songs might think she was “abandoning the meaning behind those songs.”
“I’ve spent my entire career singing songs about real people with real issues,” McBride wrote, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be a voice for those who have felt like they didn’t have one.”
She ended the message by saying she hoped to return to the Washington, D.C., area soon, keeping the issue focused on this event rather than the city or its audience.
Other Acts Also Pulled Back From the Lineup
McBride was not the only performer to distance herself from the Great American State Fair lineup. Entertainment Weekly reported that The Commodores, Young MC, Morris Day and the Time, C+C Music Factory lead singer Freedom Williams, and Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco also either withdrew, denied involvement, or raised questions after the announcement.
The Guardian reported that at least seven of nine featured musical acts had backed out within 48 hours of the lineup being announced.
The withdrawals turned the rollout into a dispute over what artists had been told about the event, how it was promoted, and whether the celebration was as nonpartisan as organizers described.
Freedom 250 Said the Event Is Nonpartisan
Freedom 250 has pushed back on the criticism. A spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly that Freedom 250 is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) dedicated to uniting Americans around the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The spokesperson said the organization’s events are meant to honor American history and welcome people who want to commemorate the milestone “in a way that uplifts and unites America.”
The Great American State Fair is tied to the larger Freedom 250 celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday. The event has been promoted as a National Mall celebration with concerts and state-fair-style programming.
The June Concert Is Now Part of a Larger Lineup Dispute
McBride’s withdrawal is no longer an isolated cancellation. It is part of a wider artist backlash that began shortly after the lineup was announced.
Young MC said artists were not told about political involvement with the event, while The Commodores said they did not want to publicly affiliate with any single political party, according to Entertainment Weekly.
McBride’s statement left the central issue clear: she says she agreed to one kind of event, later believed it had become something else, and decided not to perform.