As you may have heard, 2026 year marks The United States of America’s 250th birthday and president Donald Trump has all sorts of “250 Freedom” events planned. One of those was just announced today: The Great American State Fair which will happen June 25 – July 10 at the National Mall in Washington, DC.
The lineup, which is “bringing the hits,” definitely gets the State Fair part right with a bunch of artists who are mostly relegated to nostalgia tours these days. The initial list of performers includes Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice, C+C Music Factory, Young MC, Poison‘s Bret Michaels, Morris Day & The Time, The Commodores, and relative youngster Flo Rida. Girl, you know it’s true.
UPDATE: Morris Day, who we were saying “say it ain’t so” when we saw him on the bill, took to Instagram today to write, “Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing at the ‘Great American State Fair.'” adding, “It’s A No For Me😎.”
UPDATE 2: Young MC has dropped off the lineup, writing on Facebook, “I HAVE INFORMED MY AGENTS THAT I WILL NOT BE PERFORMING AT THE FREEDOM 250 EVENT. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as Trump-backed”. I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.”
Surely Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood are still to be announced. On the plus side: it’s free.
So what else is at this thing? From the website: “The celebration will unite and showcase all 56 U.S. states and territories in a single World’s Fair-scale event. This is an opportunity for visitors from across America to experience an unforgettable celebration of the people and traditions that define our nation. Our nation unites diverse states and territories to form the strongest country in the world. This once-in-a-generation celebration will feature live music, carnival rides, and dozens of hands-on partner activations, where visitors can taste, touch, and experience what makes each state and territory unique.”
