Fans Or Politics?

Photo: Billboard / David Bergman

What's up with state fairs lately?

First there was the Florida-Georgia Line ticket debacle at the North Carolina State Fair, now this.

Legendary band, Bon Jovi, had set up a headlining show at the New York State Fair in Syracuse but cancelled the appearance citing a "scheduling conflict." 

The conflict? Playing a private, $1,000+ a plate fundraiser for Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The band was scheduled to appear at the fair on Aug. 28 for an estimated 17,000 fans, projected to net $1.1 million in revenue. Instead, the concert was scrapped, leaving "a whole lotta fans a whole lotta pissed" as described by a report from Ultimate Classic Rock. 

A story on Billboard cited the Ultimate Classic Rock report, saying that "the decision to pull out of the State Fair appearance was in an effort to save political face as there would be a conflict 'playing a private show for the governor and three days later being paid $650,000 to perform at the fair.'"

So why is this a big deal?

Lee Ann Taylor, the morning show host on the Binghamton, New York, classic rock station, 99.1 The Whale, told Billboard the fair has been struggling as of late and this concert would have been huge for the area. 

She went on to say that "choosing politics over the people is becoming a disturbing trend with music artists...Upstate New York is hurting and Bon Jovi would have lifted her spirits."

You know, this is really upsetting. Gov. Cuomo is a Democrat but that really doesn't matter. Regardless of the political party, this is wrong! Here you have thousands of excited fans - some having followed Bon Jovi for several years - and the band up and cancels on them. 

As governor of New York, Cuomo should have insisted the band play at the struggling fair instead of his snoody fundraiser where half the people probably won't even know who they are.

I've always been a fan and had thought about getting tickets if the band ever came to North Carolina. Now I'm not so sure about that. 

The guys of Bon Jovi need to remember who got them to their superstar status in the first place: the fans.