Danish composer and violist Astrid Sonne has dropped out of the 2025 SummerStage lineup amid the conflict in Palestine, marking the third artist to be cut out of this year’s SummerStage festivities.
Featuring dozens of musical performances throughout the boroughs of New York City from May 17 to October 9, Sonne was set to perform on June 15 at SummerStage. But in an Instagram post shared on May 29, Sonne expressed that she will no longer be performing at SummerStage in solidarity with other artists whose performances were allegedly cancelled for their support of Palestine.
“I was looking forward to playing at Summer Stages but I have chosen not to perform there due to the recent cancellation of Kehlani’s concert,” Sonne wrote in an Instagram post. “it’s not right for me to perform in a concert series where artists are cancelled for taking a stand against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration allegedly pressured SummerStage to stop American singer-songwriter and dancer Kehlani from performing. The administration later claimed the performance was canceled by the organizer and operator of SummerStage, the City Parks Foundation, amidst security concerns.
Soon after the cancellation of the Kehlani concert, American rapper Noname was also unexpectedly dropped from the SummerStage lineup. Noname was set to perform a ticketed Juneteenth celebration show with R&B singers Ravyn Lenae and Fana Hues on June 18. City Parks Foundation officials shared that the Juneteenth celebration show was canceled due to disputes between the concert’s producer and the artist, explaining that SummerStage was not provided with any reasoning and played no part in the cancellation.
Though Kehlani and Noname have previously spoken out in support of Palestine and condemned the actions of Israel, both artists signed a “Musicians for Palestine” in 2023 that advocated for justice, equal rights and peace for Palestinians.
The controversy facing this year’s SummerStage festival has been met with considerable pushback. On May 20, 13 members of the City Council criticized Mayor Eric Adams for pushing the cancellations of pro-Palestinian artists and pressed the City Parks Foundation to reinstate Kehlani and Noname as SummerStage performers.
But despite the public outcry, Kehlani and Noname’s performances remain canceled and neither artists have released statements on the cancellations.
Sonne will instead be performing at Baby’s All Right, an experimental live music venue in Brooklyn, and Lenae has recently announced two new NYC shows at Brooklyn Paramount on October 13 and Terminal 5 on October 19.
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