Country star John Rich says he’s willing to perform at the Freedom 250 celebration after multiple artists withdrew, following a push from Rep. Tim Burchett urging President Donald Trump to bring him on. As the event’s lineup faces uncertainty, Trump suggested
John Rich didn’t just watch the Freedom 250 lineup unravel—he stepped in.
The country musician said he would be willing to perform at the planned Freedom 250 celebration after several artists withdrew from the event. His comments came after Rep. Tim Burchett publicly urged President Donald Trump to bring Rich on board to help lead the musical programme.
In a video message directed at Trump, Burchett urged the president to start the event with Rich. “What we ought to do is get your friend and my friend John Rich, a great musician, to lead it off. He’s got some great patriotic tunes he’s written and he sings,” Burchett said.
Burchett also named Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood as additional performers he would like to see involved in the celebrations.
Rich responded quickly. On X, he posted: “Hey@timburchett don’t threaten ME with a good time! (Have guitar, will travel:)”
After the back-and-forth, Rich reiterated that he’s ready to help. He reposted a message on X calling on Trump to contact him and suggesting Rich could assemble a group of performers quickly. The post said Trump could “have the most badass patriot musicians in Nashville and beyond to put on a 250 celebration for the ages. ” and added: “LET’S DO THIS.”.
Rich paired the repost with “This is true” and then commented, “I’m always happy to help.”
The public pressure lands amid fresh uncertainty over the broader Freedom 250 celebration. The event is mandated by one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, and it has faced a series of performer withdrawals in recent weeks.
The 16-day “Great American State Fair” is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks at the National Mall in Washington, DC. The celebration is expected to include musical performances and themed installations tied to the United States’ 250th anniversary commemorations.
As the lineup questions swirled, Trump weighed in from a different angle. On Saturday. he suggested he may personally headline a rally in Washington. DC. saying some performers appeared to be getting “the yips” following the withdrawals. He criticized what he described as “highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists’.”.
Trump also floated the idea of replacing musical acts with what he called “the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World,” referring to himself.
John Rich Freedom 250 Tim Burchett Donald Trump Great American State Fair National Mall Nashville Kid Rock Lee Greenwood music lineup executive order United States 250th anniversary
So Trump is just gonna swap out artists with himself? lol
Freedom 250 is already a mess. I saw that John Rich post like “Have guitar will travel” and it’s giving desperation.
Burchett should just cancel it if they can’t get people to show up. Also isn’t this the same thing as the Great American State Fair? Like is it in Nashville or DC, because my cousin said both.
Honestly “yips” is hilarious and also kinda mean. But like, if they’re all withdrawing cuz politics then John Rich stepping in won’t magically fix it. Wait so it’s mandated by an executive order, so does that mean it’s basically forced no matter what performers say? I’m confused.