Matthew Good is the latest Canadian artist refusing to tour the US
I’ve heard from a lot of Canadian artists who are refusing to tour the US because of the current political environment Matt Good is the latest, This is what he posted on Facebook. Sometimes, you gotta take a stand.
“To my US fans, and friends. I’ve come to the personal decision, that I can’t, in good conscience carry out my dates this summer in your country. This is not fair to you, and I’m very well aware of that, but the truth is, every week that goes by, I have a deeper disdain for what’s going on there politically.
“My world has always focussed on political awareness, and I know that you might not all be on the same side, so I want to be clear about this. It’s MY opinion, and I’m willing to risk my future US career, to stand up against things today, and god willing, for ONLY another 3 years.
“Recently, it was announced that after a year of an imposed digital services tax, we (Canada) are backing down from that, to appease Mr. Trump’s government. This was approximately 2 billion dollars in revenue that has been accumulating, and we’re walking away from that. Add to that, the massive increase in visa costs, the fear mongering that even after we have our visas, we may still be denied entry if we have something negative to say about the current GOP, and I end up in a situation where I’m biting my tongue, and losing what credibility I had to stand up and say something.
“Myself, and my band will lose a week’s worth of work, and that really hurts, but giving up 30% of our earnings to a withholding tax, walking on eggshells at the border, and actively participating in the silencing of opinions, is a bigger cost to me personally. I realize that I have approximately .00001% impact on things overall, as this was just a few thousand tickets, but I can’t stand by and be quiet while our amazing country is bullied into walking away from billions in needed revenue, constantly left wondering if we actually have a partner or an enemy to the south, and equally as tragic, supporting someone who has completely bastardized the institution of art and culture in the US.
“I would invite other artists to join me, but that’s unfair. I have built a career here in Canada that I’m proud of, and will double down here over the next 3 years, and invite my US fans to any show they want to here. Our friends, Texas King, might suffer more out of this, as our support act for these shows…so as a favour, we encourage you to get out and support them wherever you can!”
