It’s my hope that all of us can protect our peace as much as possible for the incoming political situation. We’ll cover some of it, but I’m not going to feel the same level of outrage and anger as I did from 2016-2020. MAGA world and the media have been expecting to feed on our anger and fear, and they’re really mad that a lot of people are withholding it. We’ll also cover some of the political situations when there’s overlap with the entertainment world. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the overlap to happen so quickly – for Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, his team struggled hard to find any celebrity, of any caliber, willing to attend his inaugural events, much less perform at them. But it’s a brand new MAGA world. Not only will Carrie Underwood perform at the inauguration, but a bunch of country music people will perform at the various inaugural balls.
The inauguration festivities for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance are taking shape as the (near) final roster of events, performers and participants has been unveiled by the committee.
Carrie Underwood, confirmed earlier this week to sing “America the Beautiful” in a move that surprised some fans, will have plenty of company from the country music world when she arrives in Washington, D.C. Billy Ray Cyrus, Jason Aldean, Lee Greenwood, Parker McCollum and Rascal Flatts are booked to hit the stage, either at one of three official inaugural balls or the Make America Great Again Victory Rally. (There are a number of unofficial balls and inauguration events in and around D.C. this weekend.)
Gavin DeGraw, whose work has straddled pop, rock and country and who is perhaps best known for hits off his album Chariot like the One Tree Hill anthem “I Don’t Want to Be,” will perform at the Starlight Ball. The Monday event will also feature remarks by President Trump. News of DeGraw’s participation was met by criticism from a portion of his fan base, so much so that his name was a trending topic on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
The Village People addressed their fans directly in revealing they would participate in the inauguration. The band, whose classic hit “Y.M.C.A.” has long been an anthem of the LGBTQ community and a favorite of Trump’s used at countless rallies and events, posted a statement Monday. “We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear, however, we believe the music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the band shared on Facebook. The group is booked for two events including the MAGA Victory Rally and the Liberty Ball. “Our song, ‘Y.M.C.A.,’ is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost.” (The mention references their support for defeated Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris.)
In case you’re not well-versed in country, Jason Aldean is that guy who wrote a loving ode to small-town lynchings in 2023. Aldean previously dedicated the same song to Trump, a New Yorker. I hate to admit this, but Billy Ray and Gavin DeGraw surprised me. Billy Ray is chaotic and I’m not surprised that he’s a Republican, but I just figured that he would also not put himself out there for Trump in this way. Now, I had no idea that DeGraw has MAGA politics, but I’m not sure I’ve ever even read an interview with him, so how would I know? Anyway, these are Shaboozey and Beyonce’s country music coworkers. I hope Shaboozey never goes to a country music awards show again.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – FEBRUARY 10: Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus arrive at the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency),Image: 531637132, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289 – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For querie, Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 5: Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldean at the grand opening of Jason Aldean s Kitchen Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 5, 2024. Copyright: xDeeCeexCarterx,Image: 943565087, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/DeeCee Carter/Avalon/Avalon
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- LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 5: Jason Aldean at the grand opening of Jason Aldean s Kitchen Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 5, 2024. Copyright: xDeeCeexCarterx,Image: 943565563, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/DeeCee Carter/Avalon/Avalon
Buncha good ol’ boys. May their careers tank.
Their careers will probably get a boost. There is a huge overlap between country music fans and MAGA world. I personally will be ghosting this administration and not feeding into the craziness I expect to see on my FB feed. I won’t go as far as cutting off friends and family but I will not engage. And I will use the snooze option freely.
No surprise with any of these maga idiots.
I was just having a conversation with a colleague yesterday in which I said I cannot give the level of energy to this second term that I did to the first. It is going to be completely horrible but I need to protect my peace. I will stay informed about what is going on but I can’t do the trump shit show again
Isn’t Snoop hosting a crypto ball for Dumpty?
Is Gavin just broke maybe? I think because he led an insurrection this time performing at these parties is worse. Traitors.
I’m not surprised by Billy Ray. He must have received an offer he couldn’t possibly refuse. I was more surprised by Underwood. Not that she is MAGA, but that she would take such an obvious stand.
I’ve gone on Spotify and clicked “don’t ever play this artist” on Carrie’s listing and I’ll do it for the Village People and now these artists as well. They’ll never listen to me but they’ll sure listen to my $$ and it’s saying FU!
Great idea! Copying!
Yes, I can’t be living in a state of outrage like last time. It just isn’t healthy or productive for me. I’ll try to spend my energy on actions that, hopefully, produce results.
Everytime a white country singer outs themselves as a racist bigot, a demon gets its wings!
The precious little energy I can spare for this term will be spent in told-you-soing every dumbass who voted for the rancid piece of shit thinking “…yeah, but he’s not talking about ME”. I cannot wait to watch the leopards lay out the good china and silver, splurge on an exquisite wine pairing, and absolutely SAVOR their fucking faces. That’s all we’ve got to look forward to now.
I love to go to the LeopardsAteMyFace subreddit. I’m a mix of disengaging for mental health and just anarchic “eff them all” observation at this point. I’ll still show up and vote but I can’t bring myself to get worked up caring more about people’s rights than they do.
Okay but hear me out – it’s kind of funny whenever they announce which artists are backing or performing for him, bc you immediately know they’re hard up for money or attention.
The culture wars are over. For every one fan these guys lose, they’ll gain a million. When liberals flee, conservatives rally.
“The culture wars are over” have you listened to a single thing Trump or Vance have said in the last year? Culture wars are all they have and it’s why you are here talking about liberals vs conservatives. You get off on the idea of liberals being mad about something which is why you use the word “rallying”. You’re all going to spend the next 4 years “rallying” about pissing off the libs and ending the “woke” agenda while your dear leader gives his billionaire buddies tax breaks and unfettered power at your expense. Have fun with that.
Translation: It doesn’t matter to me who supports Trump because I don’t support him. And the likelihood of me having to remove from my Playlist any of the artists that are performing for him is zero, simply because they were never on my playist to begin with.
Liberals, the group to which I proudly belong, have an individualistic approach when it comes to fighting the culture wars. Conservatives do not. How is it that “anti-woke” became the rallying (objection! overruled) cry for conservatives when “woke” was never something we liberals collectively championed as a cause? Anti-wokism dripped from the mouth’s of every Republican and conservative pundit who had an opinion. They weaponized DEI and without any pushback, government and private agencies across the board swiftly dropped their programs.
“Woke”, a term that is now ten years old and completely stripped of its initial meaning, was never an ideology that threatened to upend the nation’s moral (white hetero) fiber. But much like ‘political correctness’ years ago, woke was flipped and used to counter arguments that really weren’t bejng made, at least not collectively and certainly not as a platform. Liberal citizens, not elected Democrats, waged the anti-anti-woke battles. And now, on the verge of a fascist oligarchy being sworn in, we’re individually expressing anger at recording artists who support the incoming felon when we should be rallying behind those who oppose him. (See my comments regarding Michelle Obama’s recent acts of defiance).
When Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight are handpicked and given government authority to oversee Hollywood, I’d say yes, the culture wars are over. What’s coming next is far worse. I hope this clears up your confusion.
Oh please. No one is listening to Billy Ray Cyrus now that he’s performing for Trump. Even Carrie Underwood’s career has been on a decline these past few years. They’re not gaining new fans, they’re has-beens who are desperate for money and attention. Let me know when actual A-listers like Taylor, Drake, Bey, Ari, etc. show up for Trump and then we’ll talk.
I get what you’re saying. Basically the culture wars are de facto over because millions more voted for the racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic candidate. The verdict was rendered. And every time someone is boycotted or canceled by the left they can more followers as a result.weve all seen the washed up celeb to maga pipeline.
I need a trigger warning for Jason Aldeans face, please. He’s so ick.
I need one for his Karen wife’s smug face.
She is such a vile woman.
I heard another of the Post Malone country collaborations yesterday and had a realization: he has been welcomed with open arms into the country music “family” but Beyoncé and Shaboozey have not. Gee, I wonder why?
Ol’ lap dancer Brit is getting the filler face she sets deserves😏
Just. So. Gross.
I’m not a country music fan and never have been, not even of the “country lite” or country pop type of music, so I can’t care. I would think that the performers with the most to lose are Carrie Underwood and Gavin DeGraw, as they have — HAD — crossover appeal. But as @Grant said above, they’re all has-beens looking for some exposure and/or publicity. Whatever. I wasn’t planning to watch the Inauguration, and I still won’t. Protect your peace, everyone.
Isn’t Jason Aldean the one who had a mass shooting at one of his concerts and said nothing about it? Or not a word for a very long time? As long as people have the right to buy guns, other people have no choice but to die when they are shot with these guns? Or something like that? What about ALL the innocent victims who have and will continue to die because of gun violence?
Where are their rights?
Yes the infamous, horrific Las Vegas shooting was at his open air concert.
Let’s be real, who is surprised at this lineup?
I mean this performers are way past their heyday, bunch of washed up one hit wonders. Can you imagine the performers if Kamala 🥺😭