Report: D.C. school marching bands skipping Trump’s inaugural parade
For the first time in 20 years, no Washington, D.C., public school marching band will perform at the inaugural parade.
According to a Wednesday report from NBC Washington, no local public schools submitted applications to perform in the parade. The original deadline was Nov. 28 but was extended to Dec. 5 to allow more time to apply. A D.C. public schools spokeswoman told the NBC affiliate that she was unaware of any band in the district that had applied to participate in the Jan. 20 parade.
Other high schools in the area also reportedly declined to submit applications:
No bands in Arlington County or Prince George’s County public schools applied, according to district representatives. A Fairfax County schools spokesman was not aware of any schools that had applied, and a Montgomery County schools spokeswoman did not have information available.
The University of Maryland’s College Park campus also declined to perform again. The band was performed at Obama’s 2013 inauguration.
The Trump inauguration does have its national anthem singer confirmed: “America’s Got Talent” runner-up Jackie Evancho announced on “Today” Wednesday morning that she would be performing in January. The 16-year-old Evancho placed second on the 2010 edition of the reality show and has previously performed at the National Christmas Tree Lighting and National Prayer Breakfast.
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TMZ reported Wednesday morning that Andrea Bocelli would also be performing, but later corrected the story, stating that the tenor hadn’t yet officially signed on to sing.
At Trump’s 2005 wedding, there were performances by Elton John, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett and Paul Anka. Although transition official Anthony Scaramucci told the BBC last month that John would also be performing during the inaugural festivities, a publicist for the British star issued a blunt rebuttal: “Incorrect. He will NOT be performing.”
“Creative people tend to reject bigotry and hate,” singer John Legend told the BBC when asked about the inaugural committee’s reported struggles to attract prominent artists to perform. “We tend to be more liberal-minded. When we see somebody that’s preaching division and hate and bigotry, it’s unlikely he’ll get a lot of creative people that want to be associated with him.”
On the other hand, rapper Kanye West met with Trump on Tuesday morning and was referred to as a “good friend” of the president-elect. Tom Barrack, chairman of the inauguration committee, said that the rapper wouldn’t be performing at any inaugural events. Kid Rock and Ted Nugent have also been rumored but not confirmed for inaugural roles.
