Madonna announces Nashville show benefiting trans rights

Madonna has added a Nashville date to her upcoming 2023 ‘Celebration’ world tour, with proceeds benefiting trans rights organisations.

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The concert is due to take place on Friday, December 22 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, with Madonna adding a further seven dates to the US leg of the tour.

Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale at 10am local time this Friday, March 31. You can see full dates below and find tickets here.

In a statement addressing recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Madonna said: “The oppression of the LGBTQ+ is not only unacceptable and inhumane; it’s creating an unsafe environment; it makes America a dangerous place for our most vulnerable citizens, especially trans women of color.

“Also, these so-called laws to protect our children are unfounded and pathetic. Anyone with half a brain knows not to fuck with a drag queen. Bob [the Drag Queen] and I will see you from the stage in Nashville where we will celebrate the beauty that is the queer community.”

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Other acts to respond to the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation include Paramore‘s Hayley Williams, who criticised the two bills proposed for her home state of Tennessee.

Williams took to Instagram to decry the legislation. “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills,” she wrote on her Instagram story.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Williams, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell and Brittany Howard were set to perform at an LGBTQ+ benefit concert in Tennessee.

The show entitled Love Rising, which has been organised by Isbell and Alison Russell, will take place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on March 20. Tickets for the show are on sale now and can be purchased here.

Meanwhile, this summer, Madonna is set to embark on her lengthy 40th anniversary ‘Celebration Tour’. The stint includes six concerts at The O2 in London, with the final date scheduled for December 6.

Per a press release, ‘The Celebration Tour’ will take fans on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades and pay homage to the city of New York where her career in music began.

Bob The Drag Queen (aka Caldwell Tidicue) is billed as a special guest opening act across all dates.

Madonna’s additional tour dates are as follows:

DECEMBER 2023
18 – Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
20 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
22 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

JANUARY 2024
11 – Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs
13 – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
15 – Chase Center, San Francisco
18 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
20 – Footprint Center, Phoenix

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