Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee releases performer line-up — ready for Dems to cancel

Image via AP.

The Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee has released its lineup for the 60th Presidential Inauguration Weekend, which will celebrate the swearing-in of President-elect Donald Trump. 

A few big names — and some less familiar — are on the list. It will no doubt delight Trump supporters while offering a list of performers Democrats will no doubt wish to boycott. 

Eight-time Grammy Award-winning country music star Carrie Underwood will be the top performer during Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, singing “America the Beautiful.” 

Underwood had already announced her performance at the inauguration in a statement this week, which received a barrage of critique from the President-elect’s critics. Underwood, typically mum on her political views, said she loves our country and is “honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”

Underwood was “humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”

Little is known of Underwood’s political views. In a 2019 interview with the Guardian, she said that she tries “to stay far out of politics” because “nobody wins,” according to Newsweek, which also reported that she had registered as a Republican in 2012. That same year, however, she came out in support of same-sex marriage, Newsweek reported. 

Other big-name performers booked for inauguration weekend include The Village People, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and known Trump supporter Kid Rock. 

“The Trump Vance Inaugural Committee is proud to announce that some of our nation’s most iconic musicians will be participating in the inaugural celebrations. This monumental weekend will commemorate President Trump’s historic victory and the 60th Presidential Inauguration with a celebration of music, unity, and patriotism, ushering in America’s new Golden Age,” said co-Chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.

The Village People, most famous for their disco anthem, “YMCA.” The band, perhaps ironically given the GOP’s history of opposition to LGBTQ rights, is most often affiliated with pro-LGBTQ sentiments. Last year, band frontman and lyricist Victor Willis said that “YMCA” was not a “gay anthem,” as many have suggested. 

“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem,” Willis, who wrote the lyrics for the 1978 hit, said on Facebook at the time. “As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life.”

The band will perform at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally and at The Liberty Ball. 

Aldean’s inclusion in the programming should come as little surprise. About a year ago, he faced blowback over his song “Try That in a Small Town,” a response to anti-patriotic acts and protests. Aldean dedicated the song to Trump after the assassination attempt against him in July. Aldean will perform at the Liberty Ball. 

Kid Rock, meanwhile, will perform at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally. The singer also performed at the Republican National Convention when Trump was officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. 

Rascal Flatts, a country music trio, will perform at the Commander-In-Chief Ball. This will be the second Trump inauguration celebration performance for the band’s lead vocalist, Gary LeVox. LeVox, guitarist Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney started the band in Nashville in 1999. 

Cyrus, famous for his early 90s hit Achy Breaky Heart, will perform at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally. Cyrus’ daughter, Miley Cyrus, is a vocal Trump critic and publicly supported Trump’s General Election opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Unsurprisingly,  Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood is in the weekend lineup. His most popular anthem, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” is a staple at conservative events and rallies. According to The New York Times, the song has been blasted at GOP events for at least 40 years, and Trump frequently features it at his rallies. Greenwood will perform at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony and the Make America Great Again Victory Rally.

Also performing at the swearing-in will be “America’s Tenor” Christopher Macchio, who will perform the National Anthem with the U.S. Marine Corps band orchestra and choir. He’s an opera singer from Long Island who studied classical voice at the Manhattan School of Music. He’s not among the biggest names in opera, but he caught Trump’s eye after his late brother, Robert, was reportedly a “big, big fan,” according to Vanity Fair.

Country music singer Parker McCollum, from Texas, will perform at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, while singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw, whose song “I Don’t Want to Be” became the main theme song for the CW drama One Tree Hill, will perform at The Starlight Ball. 

Liberty University’s Praise Choir will perform at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally. Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian school in Virginia. 

A “surprise musical guest” is also scheduled to perform at The Liberty Ball.