Fans hoping to see James Taylor perform at the Democratic National Convention Monday (Aug. 19) were disappointed as the 76-year-old singer-songwriter was cut for time amid a lengthier-than-planned lineup of speakers — something he addressed in a statement posted to X Tuesday.
In his message to fans, Taylor began by saying he was fully prepared to go on stage at the Chicago event, having had a “great rehearsal” prior to his scheduled performance time. Photos and videos on social media also show that he and his band had done a soundcheck shortly before he was cut.
“It was exciting to see and hear so many of the speakers at the opening night of the Democratic convention here in Chicago,” he wrote. “But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ with cello and voices.”
The “Fire and Rain” musician went on to suggest that “maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center…” “Anyway, sorry to disappoint,” he added. “But a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment. We were honored to be there…”
Taylor was originally announced as one of several performers slated to take the stage in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s 2024 presidential bid, along with Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell, who did end up performing Monday night. A couple hours before Taylor posted his apologies, White House correspondent Christian Datoc shared the DNC’s statement on the last-minute cancelation on X.
“Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people,” it reads. “We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the week on and off the stage.”
A Billboard staff writer on the scene also reports that staff did not make an announcement in the United Center arena — where the four-day political meeting is taking place this year — about the removal of Taylor’s set from the evenings lineup. Instead, the program moved straight along to Biden’s scheduled remarks, which closed out day one of the convention.
Taylor’s performance would’ve marked his fifth straight convention performance.
Before the POTUS took the podium, Hillary Clinton, first lady Jill Biden and Ashley Biden gave speeches, as did several representatives from South Carolina, Maryland, Texas, New York, Kentucky, Georgia and more states. Both Guyton and Isbell went on before New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke in the evening, and their performances are available to watch online. As of now, there’s no word on whether Taylor’s performance might be rescheduled for later in the convention.
Billboard exclusively reported that Patti LaBelle will perform on night two of the convention.
See James Taylor’s statement about being cut from the 2024 Democratic National Convention below:
