Lawmakers Address SummerStage Cancellations Of Kehlani & Noname: ‘Little To Do With Security Concerns’

Thirteen members of the New York City Council sent a letter to New York City’s Central Park SummerStage calling on them to reinstate the cancelled concerts of Kehlani and Noname. The letter was first shared with Rolling Stone.

Kehlani’s show was pulled at the direction of Mayor Eric Adam’s office citing “security concerns” following the singer’s outspoken stance supporting Palestine. A reason for Noname’s concert cancellation was not provided, with SummerStage noting they were not the ones to pull the show and directing inquiries to Live Nation.

Kehlani’s performance was initially scheduled to take place on June 26 as part of Central Park SummerStage’s “Pride With Kehlani” benefit concert The show was canceled on May 6.. NoName’s show was scheduled for June 18 as a celebration for Juneteenth and featured support by Ravyn Lenae and Fana Hues. The show was canceled on May 13.

“We urge you to reverse the cancellation of Kehlani and Noname’s SummerStage concerts and recommit to your stated values of free speech and artistic expression,” the city council wrote in their letter. “We will stand with you and support you.”

Noname is also a prominent supporter of Palestine, and has publicly criticized U.S. funding of Israel.

“It appears that the cancellation of Kehlani and Noname’s shows have little to do with ‘security concerns’ and more to do with the artists’ political views against the devastating bombardment and humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” wrote the councilmembers, lead by Council Members Tiffany Cabán and Nantasha Willians of Queens, New York. “This moment is about what New York City stands for and whether we will stand in solidarity against the growing tide of authoritarianism and a new era of McCarthyism that threatens the ability of everyone to participate equitably in public discourse.”

Prior to Kehlani’s concert at SummerStage being pulled, her scheduled appearance at Cornell University was also canceled due to the singer’s outspoken support of Palestine. She took to Instagram to reiterate, “I am anti-genocide… anti- the bombing of innocent children, men, women – that’s what I’m anti.”

“City Parks Foundation made the difficult decision to cancel the Kehlani concert in response to the security concerns raised by City Hall,” said Executive Director Heather Lubov of City Parks Foundation, the organization behind Central Park SummerStage. “The concerns also suggested that our license to operate SummerStage would be in jeopardy if we let the concert go on. The Mayor’s Office cited the controversy surrounding Cornell University’s decision to cancel Kehlani’s concert at the University, as well as security demands in Central Park and throughout the City for other Pride events during that same time period.”

Upon Noname’s cancellation, Lubov told Pollstar, “City Parks Foundation SummerStage did not cancel the Juneteenth/Noname benefit concert originally planned for June 18. This cancellation is a matter between Live Nation, the producer of the concert, and the artist. A reason for the cancellation was not provided to SummerStage.”

In addition to its recent cancellations, SummerStage was among those affected by the Trump Administration’s recent cuts of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants, with the venue’s funding of $30,000 up in the air.