Musician Matthew Good Cancels Upcoming U.S. Tour Dates Due to Trump Administration
“Every week that goes by, I have a deeper disdain for what’s going on there politically,” he said in a Facebook post.
Matthew Good
Matthew Good won’t be crossing the border for the foreseeable future.
On Friday (July 11), the Canadian rocker took to Facebook to share the cancellation of three upcoming U.S tour dates, and said he’s willing to “risk [his] future U.S. career, to stand up against things today.”
The "Hello Time Bomb" and "Decades" singer cited Canada's cancellation of the digital services tax as a main decision factor.
In June, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would cancel the DST as a condition of ongoing trade talks with the U.S. The tax applied to all big tech companies that operated online marketplaces, advertising services and social media platforms — specifically those earning revenue from user data sales like Google, Meta and Amazon.
In the post, Good says Canada is "backing down" from the tax to “appease” the Trump administration. He doubled down, saying he doesn’t support the Trump government’s policies and divisions south of the border and that he's unlikely to perform in the country again until political tides turn.
Good said he was worried that if he spoke negatively about Trump, he might be stopped at the border or have his visa rejected, so he avoided speaking up — until now.
“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 have a partner or an enemy to the south,” he wrote in the post.
The B.C. native isn't the first Canadian artist to back away from performing in the U.S. this year. Toronto musician Bells Larsen told followers in April he would not tour U.S. cities due to safety concerns and visa policies that discriminate against transgender people. Halifax musician T. Thomason also cancelled his performance at Maine’s All Roads Music Festival in May because he didn’t feel safe crossing the border "as a Canadian trans guy," despite having a valid visa issued before Trump's inauguration in January.
The Canadian Independent Music Association also cancelled its annual Canada House showcase at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, this year, citing "instability" of Canada-U.S. relations.
Good was scheduled to play in Cleveland on Tuesday, Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Buffalo on Thursday, before returning to Canada to perform in Gravenhurst, Ont., on Friday. He's encouraging fans to show their support for Ontario rock band Texas King, who were set to open this string of shows.
