Chicago-based rock band Wilco have decided to cancel their May 7 gig in Indiana in response to the recent and very controversial "Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act" that was signed into last by Republican Governor Mike Pence last week. The bill is gives businesses the right to deny patrons on religious grounds, but is perceived to go further in its language to potentially allow discrimination towards individuals, notably gays. Gay marriage became legal in the state last year after the courts struck down the ban and Republicans looked to counter with a religious freedom act. Wilco has exercised their own freedom to not perform in the state. The "I am Trying To Break Your Heart" band posted the news on the Facebook.
We are canceling our May 7 show at the Murat in Indianapolis. The "Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act" feels like thinly disguised legal discrimination to us," wrote the band on Facebook. "Hope to get back to the Hoosier State someday soon, when this odious measure is repealed. Refunds available at point of purchase."
Though some lawmakers are looking to "clarify" the law as a result of the negative national media attention that Indiana has received over this, other know that the damage has been done.
"We've been embarrassed before the nation," Indiana House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, a Democrat, said (via Reuters) calling for the law's repeal.
The law has not just put a Wilco concert in jeopardy, as major corporations like the NFL and the NCAA have issued statements saying they are concerned with the law and will review coming back to Indianapolis. Angie's List canceled an expansion to the state after seeing the law passed, which cost the state a potential 1,000 jobs according to the Indy Star.
For Midwest Wilco fans, not all is lost. They will be touring extensively this summer in Iowa City (tonight, March 30), New Orleans, Memphis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago and elsewhere.
