NRA Convention Concert Cancelled As All Artists Drop Out In The Wake Of Uvalde Shooting
In the days since the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead, musical performers have been gradually pulling out of a concert at this weekend’s National Rifle Association convention in Houston out of respect for the victims. As of today, the final performer has dropped off the bill and announced that the concert has been cancelled.
On Twitter, Jacob Bryant, the last remaining performer, says he actually dropped off the lineup Thursday and the show has been cancelled since then. He joins performers including Don McLean, Lee Greenwood, Danielle Peck, Larry Gatlin, Larry Stewart, and T. Graham Brown, who all also cancelled their appearances.
One of the most famous performers on the bill was Greenwood, the singer best known for “God Bless The U.S.A.” He explained his rationale on the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends today. As The Daily Beast points out, Greenwood told the program’s hosts that he did not want to be associated with the AR-15, the semi-automatic rifle used in the Uvalde shooting: “For me to go and play at the NRA just days after the shooting would be an endorsement, and people would then deem that as [me saying] ‘I like this weapon.’ Obviously, that weapon killed kids. I just couldn’t go.”