Toronto singer cancels Kennedy Center gig

px_eliezer_

Amanda Rheaume has drawn her line in the sand.
Invited to perform an April 5 concert at the Millennium Stage inside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the local Métis singer-songwriter, co-founder of the Indigenous label Ishkodé Records, has informed the venue that she will not be able to honour her commitment, citing recent administrative changes within the organization imposed by (the new administration).

(Aside from everything else....)

Rheaume said she also feared potential discrimination, especially since the one-off performance would have focused on her upcoming sixth album, “The Truth We Hold.” “It’s a storybook songbook of historical Métis stories, current stories, real people and real things,” she said.

More here:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/this-toronto-singer-couldnt-wait-to-play-washingtons-kennedy-center-then-she-pulled-out-heres/article_98c3568a-eed3-11ef-816b-eb96934fbeed.html

Unfortunate (sad, as some would say).

Would have been nice to have Métis culture at such a prominent US setting.

sempergoofy

px_eliezer_ The artist might have been singing to an empty hall. News stories say ticket sales to events at the Kennedy Center have taken a serious hit since the leadership changes. So, why not put effort to a more fruitful venue for whatever purpose the artist desires?

Thane_Bitter

I hate to say it but it only hurts her and her fans.

urbanriot

Thane_Bitter

I hate to say it but it only hurts her and her fans.

Yea, I've seen a few artists do this and I can't help but wonder what their ulterior motive is considering the only people they're hurting is their handful of fans. In my mind the best thing to do would be to perform while using your microphone to protest with your fans.

I don't see that the show was sold out so maybe, just maybe this is a stunt to save face.

Dks01

Regrettably a symptom of a larger issue. I know many who are now refusing to travel to the US. Some who are gay feel very much at risk now.

[deleted]

Dks01 Regrettably a symptom of a larger issue. I know many who are now refusing to travel to the US. Some who are gay feel very much at risk now.

That's hogwash. Trans, maybe, but why would gay people be at risk?

Thane_Bitter

urbanriot Its a statement, she is willing to cut her income rather than support or be seen to support an asshole/assholic organization for lack of a better word. If she did go ahead and it was known to venue operators that she was going to do something they could cancel her first and deny her the protest, another win for the crayon munching club that dress their obese bodies in flag themed clothing made in some foreign sweatshop as they shout USA USA. The centre can book the Bolshoi, Mariinsky Ballet and Red Army Choirs, those unwashed masses would pay good nascar ticket money when their dear leader tells them to.

TLDR, she is protesting with the limited means that she has. She can perform at other places which aren't under the yoke of "the man".

taraf

[deleted] That's hogwash. Trans, maybe, but why would gay people be at risk?

Because the venn diagram of the kind of person who'd take a swing at a trans person and the kind of person who'd take a swing at a gay person is a circle.

And because more often than not, people who think they've clocked a trans person as a fair target for their bigotry are actually just looking at a cisgender person who doesn't conform to traditional beauty standards. That person may or may not be gay, but the right wing have gone after heavier set women and women who choose to have a pixie cut because they're not "feminine" enough. By a very wide margin, the victims of that kind of attack are not trans.

To put it another way: normalizing hatred against trans people will absolutely have victims who aren't trans. And the US is a hotbed for that kind of stupidity right now.

Dks01

[deleted] it would appears you have little understanding of the level of hate in the US currently.

px_eliezer_

[deleted] That's hogwash. Trans, maybe, but why would gay people be at risk?

Um.

Without getting too much into the palitical side, they are very much at risk.

Just as some people worked for years to overturn the court decision that allowed abortion (and they succeeded last year), many people would like to overturn the court decision that recognizes same-sex marriages (which originally was just a 5-4 vote).

The Kennedy Center also cancelled an upcoming Pride Concert which would have included a popular Gay Men's Chorus.

Management said "scheduling problems" but that they would have the "Wizard of Oz" as an alternative Pride event.

AFAIK, the only connection between "The Wizard of Oz" and the gay community, is the song "Over the Rainbow".

urbanriot

[deleted]

That's hogwash. Trans, maybe, but why would gay people be at risk?

Of course it's hogwash, it's the most ridiculous overwrought drama I've ever heard. Nobody's at risk, whoever's making these silly claims need to stop being a child.

[deleted]

taraf Because the venn diagram of the kind of person who'd take a swing at a trans person and the kind of person who'd take a swing at a gay person is a circle.

And trans and gay people are completely non-violent, right? like 100% no problem with any of them attacking or getting into people's faces?

Dks01

taraf exactly.

taraf

[deleted] And trans and gay people are completely non-violent, right? like 100% no problem with any of them attacking or getting into people's faces?

If you're expecting that I won't defend myself against somebody trying to assault me, you've got another thing coming. I absolutely will put them down like the trash that they are if they come after me for being queer.

But are gays/lesbians and trans people instigating? I would say no. As a general rule of thumb, we just want to go about our lives in peace.

ElQuintron

taraf But are gays/lesbians and trans people instigating? I would say no. As a general rule of thumb, we just want to go about our lives in peace.

That's too much for some.

taraf

px_eliezer_ AFAIK, the only connection between "The Wizard of Oz" and the gay community, is the song "Over the Rainbow".

Judy Garland was a major ally. It's not just the song (though that is a song a lot of queer folk identify with), it's Judy and her unwavering support of the LGBT community even in a time when that could have been career suicide.

Rich221976

px_eliezer_

There already are lawsuits that is trying to overturn the court decision that recognizes same-sex marriages. It's something I been keeping an eye on.

px_eliezer_

As Canada in an earlier time welcomed many Vietnam draft refusers, it may now end up embracing many other new people from the States.

Dks01

px_eliezer_

px_eliezer_ As Canada in an earlier time welcomed many Vietnam draft refusers, it may now end up embracing many other new people from the States.

Works for me.

taraf

ElQuintron That's too much for some.

They see "existing in public" as jamming some kind of agenda down their throats, and think that the appropriate response is to try to force us to follow their rules. Some of them really can't wrap their heads round the notion that some people may disagree with their interpretation of their holy book, or maybe even not follow the book in the first place.

(and to be absolutely above board an explicit: I don't have a problem with people who have faith. A whole lot of good has been done by a whole lot of people because their faith demanded it, and the overwhelming majority of people of faith are good people who likewise just want to live their lives in peace and be allowed to live according to their conscience. I have a problem with people who weaponize faith, and have found that the vast majority of people who fit into that latter bracket haven't actually read the book they're trying to hit me with.)

Dks01

taraf People of faith have a whole lot of trouble with people weaponizing faith.

px_eliezer_

Canadian snowbirds cancel Florida trips over Trump's threats

....Coming from Canada's closest ally, these threats have angered many of the approximately one million Canadian snowbirds who travel to the U.S. each winter.

Some have cancelled trips, while others are considering whether they will return next season.

The implications of a boycott are worrying Florida hoteliers, realtors and organizations that represent snowbirds.

Much more here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/snowbords-canada-florida-trump-tariff-51-state-1.7464896

taraf

urbanriot Nobody's at risk, whoever's making these silly claims need to stop being a child.

or stop being trans....

g121

urbanriot Of course it's hogwash, it's the most ridiculous overwrought drama I've ever heard. Nobody's at risk, whoever's making these silly claims need to stop being a child.

You are not part of that community, so who are you to be able to tell that community how they feel?

px_eliezer_

urbanriot Of course it's hogwash, it's the most ridiculous overwrought drama I've ever heard. Nobody's at risk, whoever's making these silly claims need to stop being a child.

My friend, you are not fully informed, being in a safer country.

Just one example:

HIV, transgender care, climate change and other federal websites go dark...
"The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks," the Infectious Diseases Society of America said in a statement.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/31/health-cdc-websites-data-removed-trump

"Who controls the past controls the future.
Who controls the present controls the past"
---Orwell, 1984

More than 200,000 Canadians sign petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/24/canada-elon-musk-citizenship-parliamentary-petition

Dks01

urbanriot Hogwash? It would appear you aren't listening, either. I guess you have never heard of Matthew Shepherd. . Or the Pulse nightclub mass casualty event in Orlando. Sadly, they are not exceptional in the US.