Trump to headline 250th anniversary fair opening after performers drop out

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will headline an event commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall next month after several musical performers scheduled to appear in the celebration canceled, citing concerns about its association with him, organizers told the Washington Post.

The concerts were planned as the opening ceremony of the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event running from June 25 to July 10, 2026. Organizers said the fair, organized by the Freedom 250 group, would stretch on the National Mall from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument, with concert stages, state pavilions, exhibits, rides, and other attractions.

But the musical lineup has been hit by a series of cancellations. On Friday, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, became the fifth performer to withdraw from the concerts, saying that the event was not the nonpartisan celebration that he thought it would be. 

Organizers have not publicly detailed the reasons for the departures, though the exits have raised questions about the viability of the event as originally envisioned.

Danielle Alvarez, an adviser to Freedom 250, told the Post that “Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America’s 250th birthday.”

The Freedom 250 group did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In a post on Truth Social earlier on Saturday, Trump suggested the concert series may no longer be necessary if performers continue to back out. He floated the possibility of giving a speech on the National Mall instead, portraying himself as a more powerful draw than any musical act.

“The fact is that I am, according to many, the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote. He added that he gets “much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime” and “does so without a guitar.”

The president said he is “ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally.”

Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership created by the White House to coordinate celebrations of the United States’ 250th anniversary alongside federal agencies.

It remains unclear whether replacement musicians will be recruited, or whether Trump’s proposal to substitute a rally for the performances is being seriously considered by organizers. 

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Nia Williams, Sergio Non and Alistair Bell)