A planned performance by James Taylor on the first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was scrapped as organizers grappled with scheduling problems that pushed President Joe Biden’s speech outside primetime.“Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people. We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the week on and off the stage,” convention officials told The Hollywood Reporter.Taylor was set to take the stage during the 9 p.m. CT block, according to an earlier DNC schedule of events, with the singer-songwriter featuring in a slot between First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s speech and Ashley Biden’s introduction of her father. President Biden didn’t take the stage until after 10:30 p.m CT.Earlier Monday, several social media posts captured Taylor rehearsing inside Chicago’s United Center.Despite skipping Taylor’s performance, the first day of the DNC did feature sets from Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell.Taylor addressed being bumped from the DNC night one lineup on social media on Tuesday, writing in part, “it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ with cello and voices. Maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center. … Anyway, sorry to disappoint. But a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment. We were honored to be there…”Aug. 20, 12:11 p.m. This story has been updated with Taylor’s statement.THR NewslettersSign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribeSign Up
DNC Skips James Taylor Performance As Schedule Runs Over
