A sudden wave of prominent musical acts has abruptly withdrawn from Freedom 250 Presents: The Great American State Fair, completely upending the entertainment schedule for the summer festival just hours after the initial roster went public.
High-profile performers pulled out of the free 16-day exposition on the National Mall, scheduled to run from 25 June through 10 July, after discovering that the celebration of America's 250th anniversary carried significant political overtones despite explicit reassurances from organisers that the programming would remain strictly non-partisan.
