Noname has become the second artist in a week to have a concert in New York’s Central Park canceled. No cause was given, and representatives for Live Nation, which organized the show for the SummerStage concert series, and for Noname herself have not responded to requests for comment. That the cancellation so swiftly follows that of a Kehlani SummerStage concert has prompted speculation that the two vocally pro-Palestine artists have been targeted on political grounds, as Hell Gate notes. New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, took responsibility for the Kehlani cancellation, citing apparent “security concerns” while alluding to the pro-Palestine statements that caused Cornell University to drop her campus concert last month. The mayor’s office told Hell Gate, however, that it had no part in the Noname cancellation.
Noname had been due to perform the Juneteenth SummerStage concert in Central Park, supported by Ravyn Lenae and Fana Hues. City Parks Foundation, the nonprofit that runs SummerStage, has directed media to Live Nation, saying the foundation had no direct part in organizing the Noname show. Lenae’s representatives had no comment when reached by Pitchfork.
