White House cancels The B-52s gig amid Israel-Hamas war
The First Lady Jill Biden has announced The B-52s are no longer scheduled to perform a special concert at the White House for a state dinner.
Their performance was set to coincide with the visit of the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese. The new wave band were initially on the bill for an evening of entertainment on October 25th. However, due to world events, their show has now been cancelled.
“While we had initially planned for legendary B-52s to perform their iconic dance and party music, we are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, so we made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening,” Jill Biden announced.
“Nurturing our partnerships and relationships with our allies is critically important, especially in these tumultuous times,” the statement continued. “Food is comforting, reassuring and healing, and we hope that this dinner provides a little of that as well.”
In The B-52s’ place, the White House booked live music performed by the Marine band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings. The current lineup of The B-52s, including Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider and Keith Strickland, were welcomed to the dinner as guests instead.
The B-52s embarked on their farewell tour in 2022 but recently extended their seemingly conclusive Las Vegas residency.
Watch footage from a show in Las Vegas below.
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