Vanilla Ice’s Friday concert at the Great American State Fair was canceled two hours before he was scheduled to perform, ending the night’s final act before it began. Freedom 250 said the shutdown came because of inclement weather, and the fair closed for the rest of Friday.
Friday at 5 p.m. ET
Freedom 250 announced after 5 p.m. ET that the Great American State Fair would remain shut for the rest of the day, then said it would reopen Saturday at 10 a.m. That left the Friday lineup without its last scheduled performer and turned the fair from a full-night bill into a closed gate.
Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Rob Van Winkle, had already framed the appearance as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” Hours before the cancellation, he posted on Instagram and said, “We’re about to have a great party tonight.” He also wrote, “Once in a lifetime, happy birthday America. Put your dance shoes on. We’re all gonna come together and be teenagers for the night.”
I Love the ‘90s lineup
The canceled set was part of Friday’s still-scheduled “I Love the ‘90s” concert, where Vanilla Ice was the last artist standing after other names fell away. The original lineup included Milli Vanilli, Young MC and C+C Music Factory, but Young MC dropped out shortly after the announcement, the musicians behind Milli Vanilli said they never agreed to perform, and Freedom Williams also backed out after saying in a video that he “doesn’t f*** with Trump.”
That made Vanilla Ice the only remaining draw for the night, which is why the cancellation carried more weight than a single missed show. He had told TMZ last month that he was “not gonna get dragged” into politics and said, “I’m here to party with America, man,” adding, “Music is made to bring people together, and that’s what we are here to do. And we’re just gonna represent the ‘90s.”
Great American State Fair
The wider fair had already taken on a political edge: Donald Trump opened the Great American State Fair with a rally-style speech on Wednesday night, and he later wrote on Truth Social about the “Number One Attraction anywhere in the World.” For the audience that planned to stay for Vanilla Ice, the practical answer is simple: Friday ended early, Saturday starts at 10 a.m., and the concert itself has not been put back on the calendar.
