No, Elton John is not playing at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Neither is Mötley Crüe. Ted Nugent probably would and could, but currently is not. But, as Stereogum is reporting, Garth Brooks may be. Brooks, whose songs can now be procured along with your bag of chips, is reportedly in talks with Trump’s inauguration planning team to perform at the ceremony, per his publicist (who, as Stereogum points out, confusingly refers to the news as “a rumor,” but then adds that he “hasn’t been able to commit yet”). Brooks is currently the only major music name up for the gig, although that will likely change as the date draws nearer. As Vulture’s Dee Lockett has noted, however, playing Trump’s inauguration is not exactly an opportunity for which music luminaries are currently lining up. We’ll leave this one with Mr. Brooks, but as an aside we’d like to mention that he was a great Saturday Night Live host, particularly in the game show sketch “Old French Whore,” which we’re sure Mr. Trump has seen and has some thoughts on, SNL fan that he is.
