Watch: Guster Welcome Cast of Finn to Kennedy Center Stage for “Hard Times” in Protest
Photo: Matthew Carasella (@MatthewCarasella)
On March 28 and 29, Guster took the stage at Washington, D.C.‘s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the long-running cultural institution weathers a dramatic upheaval in direction. When President Donald Trump seized control of the Center in February, installing himself as Chairman and excising trustees and programming at odds with his “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” many artists booked for the coming months cancelled their upcoming performances in protest. Guster, instead, went ahead with the two-night engagement, using their spotlight as an opportunity speak out against the authoritarian new guard.
“From the beginning, it felt like there was more opportunity in playing the show than in not playing the show,” drummer Brian Rosenworcel told the Boston Globe.
“We were aligned early on as a band, which we often are,” echoed vocalist and guitarist Ryan Miller, “that it was more important to use our voices onstage, take the space that was given us, rather than protest and be a line in a newspaper.”
Guster began its statement with subtle touches. On Saturday, the band set off its performance with “I Spy,” swapping the lyric “I went down to the May parade” to “I went down to the gay parade.” At the first set’s midpoint, Miller wore a rainbow-shaped hat for “Hello Mister Sun” to flag objection to the new administration’s prejudicial anti-“woke” policies.
The band made its distaste for Trump’s suppression of inclusive programming clear on both evenings in the second set by welcoming the cast of Finn and co-creator Michael Kooman up as special guests. The artists behind the pro-LGBTQ+ musical, whose tour was originally sponsored by the Kennedy Center and cancelled at the time of Trump’s coup, joined in a backing chorus for “Hard Times,” a highlight from Guster’s 2019 album Look Alive.
Before the inspiring performance, Miller shared a resolute statement, per the Boston Globe, which read in part, “As the new administration has made abundantly clear, Finn’s themes of inclusivity, love and self-acceptance aren’t going to be welcome in this building while they are in control. So tonight, our band is here to say our stage is your stage. We are your allies, we stand with the LGBTQ community, and we want you to sing with us.”
Guster’s Kennedy Center performances were the culminating final act of its Spring Tour. The band will return to the stage for its Summer Tour with Barenaked Ladies and The Mountain Goats on June 3. For tickets and more information, visit guster.com.
