Stoogefest headliner cancels, cites NAACP travel advisory in Missouri

The headlining act for this weekend’s Stoogefest 9.5 canceled Monday morning, citing a recently issued travel advisory from the NAACP naming Missouri a travel risk for people of color.

The news hit organizer and Stooges Restaurant owner Ron Cook especially hard, he said, because the Nashville-based Gian Cage Band was the inspiration for the event — the second Stoogefest of the summer.

“They played Stoogefest 9 in June,” Cook said. “There was such a tremendous turnout, and everyone was so happy about this band and how well they played that we had to have them back again, so we booked them again that night, June 3.”

But earlier this month, the Missouri NAACP issued a travel advisory for the state, marking the first time the organization has levied such action against an individual state. The advisory came in response to Gov. Eric Greitens’ signing into law Senate Bill 43, which bolstered protections for employers in cases of discrimination lawsuits.

CNN has reported the Missouri State NAACP Conference referred to the new law as a “Jim Crow Bill.”

Gian Cage did not respond to a message sent via social media Monday but published a video addressing fans Monday morning, explaining his band’s decision and expressing their apologies.

“It is with very, very deep regret that I make this announcement, but due to the light of things that are happening in the country and the tensions and whatnot, and especially with the advisory that has been issued by the NAACP, the Gian Cage Band will not appear in Jackson, Missouri, this weekend. We will not be performing,” he said.

“My apologies out to the people that were coming. I am deeply sorry for this; however, I have to consider the lives and families of my band and the responsibility that I have to them. I hope to see you all here in Nashville very soon, and again, I do apologize for it.

“But the Gian Cage Band will not be performing this weekend at Stoogefest 9.5. Blessings goes out to Ron Cook and everybody there. Again, I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. Hopefully we can work together in the future. ... Thank you for understanding, and again, our apologies to the staff the organizers and to the fans that were coming out. Thank you.”

Cook said he was surprised but not upset. He said he felt the video was sincere.

“We had a good relationship,” he said of Cage. “I don’t think there [were] any concerns about anything happening. ... I was just explaining that it was just a political thing here in Missouri. ... So I told them there’s nothing to worry about here.”

Cook said the event will happen. He’s scrambling to find a new headlining band but expects to strike a deal sometime Tuesday.

He said he takes Cage at his word, and he can’t blame him for feeling apprehensive.

“I guess I can’t [blame them],” Cook said. “With what’s going on around the country in different places, it’s probably ... I want to think there’s nothing to it from my viewpoint, but they have a totally different viewpoint. I have to think about that. I have to take that into consideration that I don’t know how that feels. I’m not going to hold that against them.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

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