James Taylor has apologised to fans after his performance was cut from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois on Monday night.
Taylor was scheduled to play his 1971 hit You’ve Got a Friend during the political event and was even seen rehearsing at the United Center earlier in the day.
But while Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell took to the stage, Taylor was noticeably absent, and in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, he explained that his performance was skipped as a result of scheduling delays.
“It was exciting to see and hear so many of the speakers at the opening night of the Democratic convention here in Chicago. And we had a great rehearsal with @RickeyMinor and terrific singers, @KenyaHathaway and Mathew Johnson before the event,” he wrote. “Lots of friends got in touch, wishing us well: Kim, Owen Young and me. But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our You’ve Got a Friend with cello and voices.”
Taylor went on to note that it seemed the organisers didn’t anticipate the “wild response” to the speakers, which included U.S. President Joe Biden.
“Anyway, sorry to disappoint. But a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment. We were honored to be there…” James added.
In a statement, DNC officials acknowledged that timing issues had led to some aspects of the schedule being cut.
“Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our programme to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people,” they told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall.”
The 2024 Democratic National Convention is set to run until Thursday. During the event, delegates of the U.S. Democratic Party will vote to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris to run for the presidency and affirm her choice of Governor Tim Walz as running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was nominated to run for re-election during the 2024 Republican National Convention last month.
James Taylor performed his final shows in Australia in April, 2024.
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