SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Update:
After days of backlash, Goldfield Trading Post announced they have decided to cancel the controversial shows featuring Adam Calhoun and Demun Jones during Sacramento Pride Weekend.
In a post to Facebook, Goldfield said they have listened to the community, "that we are very proud to be a part of" and apologized for the "angst that booking these shows has caused."
One of the canceled artists, Calhoun, issued his own statement in a video posted to his Facebook page, saying in part, "Yes they screamed enough to get our shows canceled in Sacramento, but fortunately for those people, I was raised better than to become a homophobic racist. So I will be there and I will show you what type of person I am and what I'm made of. It's up for discussion with anybody."
Original Story:
June is LGBTQ+ Pride month nationwide, and with it comes a host of colorful events celebrating diversity and inclusion. Sacramento is marking Pride during the weekend of June 7-9.
On Tuesday, the Sacramento LGBT Community Center published a post on its Facebook page, calling out local bar and restaurant Goldfield Trading Post for booking two rappers it says promote “openly racist and homophobic” views, “overlapping Pride celebrations, to apparently a sold-out crowd.”
The two white rappers, Adam Calhoun and Demun Jones, stopping in Sacramento on their "Crazy White Boy Tour" both have songs with sexist, homophobic and racist language. In one song titled "Racism," Calhoun raps about stereotypes, uses the n-word repeatedly, and talks about assaulting women.
In Jones' 2018 song "Sound on the Water," he raps about not being a homophobe, but also refers to music mogul Bryan "Birdman" Williams as a "f-----."
The June 7 event on Facebook says the concert is sold out. The June 8 Facebook event doesn’t specify.
The post goes on to cite security concerns, since Goldfield Trading Post is located just three blocks from the heart of Lavender Heights, Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood, at 20th and J Streets. Goldfield is located at 17th and J streets.
“With safety as a number one priority, the Sacramento Pride and Sacramento LGBT Community Center staff and volunteers are updating their safety plan to anticipate and de-escalate any situations that may spill over into the actual SacPride festivities,” the Sacramento LGBT Community Center said in its post.
However, Goldfield Trading Post claimed in a Facebook post, Tuesday evening, that "we were not aware of the festival dates when we confirmed Mr. Jones’s and Mr. Calhoun’s performances many months ago, and we certainly did not intend to deflect any attention away from your event."
The post said Goldfield Trading Post welcomes people from all walks of life "no matter their gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, political affiliation, or sexual orientation. Goldfield produces live performances of artists of all genres from country to hip-hop to reggae to heavy metal. A good majority of artists that perform on our stage are usually driven by the desire to express themselves, whether with words, emotion, or bodily movement. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be supportive, or be a fan, of all the artists that grace our stage."
Responding in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen said he’s joining a growing number of voices calling on Goldfield Trading Post to cancel the show.
“Midtown or our City doesn't support bigots -- Sacramento bar booked anti-LGBTQ rappers during Pride weekend. Now a backlash is coming,” he wrote.
Goldfield Trading Post acknowledged people's right to protest the concert and even the bar-restaurant itself.
"Protest creates conversation, and conversation is how we will make this world a better place for all of us to live in," the post says. "We would like to apologize to everyone involved with Sac Pride as we were not aware of the festival dates when we confirmed Mr. Jones’s and Mr. Calhoun’s performances many months ago."
The Sacramento LGBT Community Center says that more than 22,000 people are expected to attend the slate of “local, queer, inclusive and supportive artists” performing on the Capitol Mall for Pride, compared to the “minority of folks who are attending the Adam Calhoun and Demun Jones shows.”
“It is disheartening to know that local establishments would like to profit and support the content that this musical duo spew in their racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and xenophobic lyrics at all, let alone during the SacPride weekend celebration,” the post said.
Goldfield Trading Post highlighted Sacramento's cultural diversity and said "hopefully the artists we book and the fans they attract are a reflection of that diversity."
ABC10 reached out to both businesses for comment. We will update the story when we receive a reply. Continue the conversation with Becca on Facebook.