The various United States presidential inaugural balls are right around the corner. But the question remains: who will join the list of musical performances?
Thus far, confirmed performers include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (minus one singer who just quit, citing fears of Trump’s “fascism and tyranny”), the Radio City Rockettes (several of whom were unhappy to be linked with Trump), and America’s Got Talent contestant Jackie Evancho. Classical singer Andrea Bocelli was rumored to perform at one point, but it was later confirmed he’s not participating. The 1975’s Matt Healy told BBC, “I’ll do it if they give me cash up front. Then watch what would happen. It would be a riot.”
Musical hopefuls might include Trump supporters Kid Rock and Ted Nugent, but many artists have said ‘no thanks.’ According to The Wrap, Dixie Chicks’ manager Simon Renshaw stated, “If anyone does do it, I hope that the check that they get is in the nine figures. Because it’s probably the last check they’re ever going to get…No one is prepared to normalize what is going on in the country right now.”
Generally speaking, some of the biggest names in music have spoken out against Trump. Earlier this year, Miley Cyrus called the president-elect a nightmare on Instagram; Cher once tweeted that she would move to Jupiter if he ever got elected.
In 2009, when President Barack Obama was inaugurated, he was serenaded by Aretha Franklin and Beyonce. If Trump decides to beef up the star power of his inaugural party, here’s a list of possible (and a few not so possible) inauguration performers. Vote for your pick.
Garth Brooks — The country singer was rumored to be in talks to perform, and told TMZ, “It’s always about serving. It’s what you do.” After a brief period of speculation, those rumors cooled off, however.
Kid Rock — Yup, Kid Rock is totally here for it. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rock said “I’m digging Trump.” He also released a line of Trump-themed merchandise.
Kanye West — As crazy as this may sound, West might actually be a possibility. The rapper met with the president-elect earlier this month and Trump even calls him a friend.
Ted Nugent – Perhaps Trump fan Ted Nugent? The rocker and political activist appeared in the September video ad #Heartland4Trump, playing an American-flag guitar.
Wayne Newton – Newton appeared on Fox News’ Fox & Friends back in 2015 to share his opinion on Trump saying, “I love Donald, and he would make a great president.” Maybe the Las Vegas headliner could perform a song or two.
Josh Groban – This guy has a voice of an angel. While it’s unlikely he would consider singing at the inauguration, he did sing Trump’s “best tweets” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, racking up over two million views on YouTube.
Vince Neil — Reportedly, Neil was asked to perform at the inauguration months ago, regardless of the election results. But he was uninvited last month without an explanation. If he’s still willing to perform, maybe he would.
