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. Heather Lubov, the executive director of City Parks Foundation, the nonprofit that runs SummerStage, said in a statement shared with Pitchfork, “City Parks Foundation SummerStage did not cancel the Juneteenth/Noname benefit concert originally scheduled for June 18. This cancellation is a matter between Live Nation, the producer of the concert, and the artist. A reason for cancellation was not provided to SummerStage.” Lenae’s representatives had no comment when reached by Pitchfork.
