Walking Away from the Vice President: When the Unexpected Becomes a Headline

The last couple of weeks have been surreal. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the only gig we’ve ever walked away from would be the one the whole world seemed to hear about.

One of the funny things about being an independent musician is that you never quite know what’s around the corner. Every booking brings the hope that maybe this one could be a breakthrough moment. But I never expected our “moment” to look like this.

We’d been booked, as we often are, to play at a private event. Usually, it’s straightforward: someone gets in touch, checks our availability, we agree a fee, and we play. Sometimes it’s a wedding, sometimes a venue we’ve performed at before, sometimes a special event. Living where we do, we’re lucky to perform in some beautiful spaces, often with high-profile guests around - so that’s never been unusual.

On Monday 11 August, we were booked to play at Daylesford in Kingham. We weren’t told much, so we assumed it was a product launch or something similar, after all, it was an odd time for live music. We arrived as normal, but almost immediately the motorcade arrived along with detailed security. It quickly became clear: this event was for JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, with a swift phone-call to the booker, it was confirmed that the VP and his family were coming for the day.

At that point, Adrian and I looked at each other and made our decision. We weren’t going to play. We quietly packed up our gear, and left. Along with that decision, we also walked away from a very healthy day’s pay.

I thought nothing more of it until we got home. I posted briefly on our socials, and went to bed. By the next morning, it had blown up into a full-blown news story. To our surprise, it was everywhere.

Here’s the strange thing: no one asked us directly about what had happened. Stories were written, details were filled in by others, and before long there were all sorts of different versions of events circulating online. One report even said the VP’s team claimed he hadn’t attended - which might make sense if they thought we were playing elsewhere. But the truth is: JD Vance and his family did spend the day at Daylesford. Thankfully, without our soundtrack.

Since then, the internet has done what the internet does. There’s been a lot of love and a lot of hate, often in equal measure. And that’s fine, everyone has the right to their opinion. What I find more baffling are the personal attacks from people who know nothing about me, or about the reasons behind our choice. That’s why we’ve kept our public comments vague. Once you start over-explaining, your words can be twisted, pulled apart, and spun into something you never meant.

The most surreal moment? Being contacted by CNN. Yes, that CNN. They wanted me to appear live on air. They even reached out to the White House for comment - can you imagine?! I did a screen test, got booked for 4am my time, and then… it all fell apart. Just hours before I was due to go live, CNN called back to say they couldn’t run the story after all, because the White House disputed it. Honestly, don’t they have more important things to worry about? Still, it was a strange reminder of how controlled and carefully managed stories can be in the media.

I am grateful that Adrian and I had each other in that moment. Grateful that we had the privilege to make that choice. And grateful that so many of you reached out with compassion and support.

I am proud that we were able to use our voices - even if it feels small in the grand scheme of things.

At the end of the day, that’s all any of us can do: speak up when we need to, support each other, and hope that the forces of good and peace will prevail.

So thank you for being here, for caring, and for standing with us.

And yes, I will absolutely “stick to singing.” Our new single comes out on 3 October, and our new album will be with you next spring. I can’t wait to share it with you.