ST. GEORGE – In the wake of last week’s announcement that Utah’s own “The Piano Guys” would be performing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural welcome concert, fans have voiced both their support and their ire. The group issued a statement via their blog Sunday explaining why they accepted the invitation to perform.
In the blog post, an unidentified member of The Piano Guys wrote that, while kissing his daughter goodnight, she asked “Daddy, why are people mad at you?”
By agreeing to perform at the inaugural festivities Thursday, some respondents to the blog post, as well as on Facebook, have stated the group is basically endorsing a man whose behavior they find appalling and offensive.
The following are excerpts from The Piano Guys’ statement:
I told (my daughter) that I wish I could gather up everyone angry with the Piano Guys one by one and talk with them face to face. Hear their story. Empathize with their concerns, and mourn together so we could comfort each other.
We, too, are distraught and despondent over how divisive this chapter in our nation’s politics has been. We, too, want what’s best for everyone in this country. Those of you who know us, know we grew up as “nerdy” musicians and we experienced bullying firsthand. We abhor and decry bullying. You know that we honor our relationships with our spouses more than anything else.
You know we believe women are Divinely appointed to not only equality, but also respect and chivalrous deference.
You know that in our history our ancestors were refugees, driven from their homes in fear for their lives. We empathetically embrace those now in the same situation.
You know we believe in loving all people, regardless of gender, race, political affiliation, country of origin, or religious background. You know we believe that differences are meant to be celebrated, not calculated.
If you know our music, you know that we painstakingly, prayerfully write and perform it with the intention to give it the greatest potential to lift others and break down barriers, not build them.
They stated the following in conclusion:
To our friends who have felt disturbed by our involvement, we want you to know that this doesn’t lessen our gratitude for what you have done for us. Not one bit. We still feel indebted to you. We love you. You give our music wings! We sincerely hope and pray for your understanding. We don’t feel right limiting our positive message only to people that believe or act the same way we do.
We haven’t changed our message. We haven’t changed who we are, what we stand for, or what our music means and why we write it. We’re still doing what we’ve always done – playing for anyone who will hear our musical message with the hope that it persuades its listeners to love others.
Read The Piano Guys’ full statement here.
Other artists slated to appear at the “The Make American Great Again! Welcome Celebration” Thursday include Lee Greenwood, Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down, RaviDrums, The Frontmen of County, and actor Jon Voight.
The Piano Guys aren’t the only Utah-based group to face the ire of others for accepting an invitation to perform at Trump’s inauguration. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced last month it would be performing at the President-elect’s swearing-in ceremony set for Friday.
“The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a great tradition of performing at the inaugurals of U.S. presidents,” said Ron Jarrett, president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. “Singing the music of America is one of the things we do best. We are honored to be able to serve our country by providing music for the inauguration of our next president.”
The choir, which is a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has performed at six inaugural events, starting with the swearing-in of President Richard M. Nixon in 1969. The choir’s last inaugural performance was for President George W. Bush in 2001 when they took part in the inaugural parade.
A woman left the choir over objections of performing for a man she compared to Adolf Hitler. An online petition asking the choir to reconsider performing at the inauguration was also created.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
Good for them. As guys who “experienced bullying firsthand” I’m glad they chose not to be bothered by all the liberals bullying every entertainer who has signed on for this gig.
These new breed of liberals use fascist intimidation tactics. They’re basically neo-nazis.
It becomes more and more clear that liberals are the bully’s, haters, and dividers. God Bless America…
Exactly Ladybug. Why the hell do these guys even have to explain themselves. They should be honored but instead will be shamed by a bunch of crybaby snowflakes.
Yes. Keyword: BUNCH. There is only 1 reason musicians take gigs. I guess I can’t fault them for that. If anybody outside of Utah even recognized “The Piano Guys”, which they don’t, “The Piano Guys” would be turning down this gig and spitting with disgust on this invitation to perform.
What a petty comment. Inaugurations have always been events where both political parties set aside their partisan differences and recognize the incoming POTUS. Even after the much closer 2000 Presidential election, Al Gore attended GWB’s inauguration. You should change your screen name to “SoreLoserStateofMind”.
What an assumption. Maybe they really do have a bit of integrity and won’t acquiesce to the Hollywood bullies.
This is absolutely fantastic news and I’m sure this will result in a positive reaction from the community and I would like to thank all those involved in making this possible