Wilco Cancels Concert in Indiana Due to State’s ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’

Wired_Wilco
photo copyright H. Michael Karshis, Creative Commons License

 

Indie rock band Wilco have just announced on their Twitter and Facebook accounts they have canceled their Indiana concert due to the state’s ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’.

In their Facebook statement, Wilco simply said:

We are canceling our May 7 show at the Murat in Indianapolis. The “Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act” feels like thinly disguised legal discrimination to us. Hope to get back to the Hoosier State someday soon, when this odious measure is repealed. Refunds available at point of purchase.

Wilco joins a long list of artists and other high-profile people who are now either boycotting Indiana or speaking out against the ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, until this discriminatory law is repealed.

Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, tweeted his company was “canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination”.

NASCAR’s Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes said condemned the law saying NASCAR “will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance”.

Singer Miley Cyrus has spoken out against Indiana’s ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, and actor George Takei posted on his Facebook page:

I am outraged that Gov. Pence would sign such a divisive measure into law. He has made it clear that LGBT couples, like Brad and me, are now unwelcome in his state. The notion that this bill was not driven by animus against our community is belied by the record and frankly insulting. I will join many in demanding that socially responsible companies withdraw their business, conferences and support from his state and that LGBTs and our friends and supporters refuse to visit or do business with Indiana. It is a sad day for the Hoosier state, and indeed for the many good people of Indiana, for whom this law now stands as a terrible blight upon that state’s reputation.

And actress Ashley Judd tweeted, “Stay at a friend’s. Take all of one’s own food. Drive & fill tank before state line so no gas needs to be bought in IN.

As for Wilco and their concert cancellation in Indiana, it isn’t the first time the indie rock band has supported gay rights. In 2013, lead singer Jeff Tweedy called for support for gay marriage.

This week he, and his band, are continuing to speak out about injustice against the LGBT community, just like they always have done.

About Michelle Topham

I'm a Brit-American journalist, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I'm also obsessed with music, anime, manga, and K-dramas. Help!