The inaugural Neon City Festival lost a headliner just days after its lineup was first announced.
Macklemore was among the headlining acts first announced on Thursday. In a brief statement Tuesday morning, festival organizers say the Grammy-winning rapper will no longer be performing at Neon City Festival “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
News that the rapper was removed from the Neon City lineup comes after his performance at the Palestine Will Love Forever Festival in Seattle over the weekend. A video of Macklemore yelling “Yeah, fuck America!” during his performance has since been viewed over a million times on social media.
Macklemore has not kept his stance on the ongoing war in Gaza a secret. In May, he made headlines when he released “Hind’s Hall,” a rap single praising college students for their protests of the war and denouncing the U.S.'s role in the conflict.
In March, he was also photographed alongside protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during the 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
As Channel 13 previously reported, the free festival in downtown Las Vegas is scheduled to coincide with the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The remaining headliners include Seven Lions, Alison Wonderland, Russell Dickerson and Neon Trees.
As of Tuesday, organizers say you can expect Macklemore to be replaced with a different act.
“We are excited to announce new artists joining the NCF lineup shortly,” they stated.
Sounds like they lost the highlight of the festival. They’ve got some ghost-writer DJs, pastiche producers, radio wash-ups, and a random chud remaining from the look of it.
(I say this as someone who has listened to a lot more 7 Lions and Alison Wonderland than Macklemore. They just don’t have the same panache as he does imo.)