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NEWS : STORIES
The Indigo Girls' abbreviated tour of high schools in the South became even shorter Tuesday night when the principal of Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., canceled the lesbian folk-rock duo's Wednesday (May 6) appearance at the school.
That move follows two similar cancellations this week in Germantown, Tenn., and Irmo, S.C., where the Indigo Girls show was called off due in part to the duo's homosexuality. This cancellation was then followed by the one in Germantown and now in Knoxville, both schools in which the principals claim that sexuality had nothing to do with their decision to cancel the shows. According to Farragut High School teacher and concert organizer Jeff Callahan, Principal Edwin Hedgepeth canceled the concert Tuesday morning, citing the group's use of the word "fucking" onstage at an April 13 show at Loganville High School in Loganville, Ga. "I called [Indigo Girls] management as soon as I was told and they told me [the use of the f-word] was a one time occurrence and that they had apologized and had not performed the song since," Callahan said. When Callahan relayed this message to Hedgepeth, however, the head educator held his ground. "We had a lot of calls from parents and very politically active churches," Callahan explained. "A lot of people here think the only reason this was canceled was because they're lesbians." Hedgepeth couldn't be reached for comment at press time, but in a report in Wednesday's (May 6) Knoxville News-Sentinel, he denied that the cancellation had anything to do with the lesbianism of singer/guitarists Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. "I'm not sure exactly (in) what context (profanity) was used, whether it was used in an actual song or whether it was used onstage at some point in a comment," Hedgepeth told the newspaper. "I'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to the people that we have presenting in the schools." Doug Crosier, principal at Franklin High School in Franklin, Tenn., where the group performed on Monday, said that he called Hedgepeth following the group's performance at his school and told him that it went off without a hitch. "I told him the show was fine and that no one was going to get up in front of a group of students and shoot themselves in the foot like that," Crosier explained. As for the concert at his school, Crosier said it was enjoyable for everyone involved, with the Grammy-winning duo performing for a half-hour and then taking questions for a half-hour, during which time they talked about how they got started in the music business and their views on the environment. "At the end of the show," Crosier said, "we were really thankful for them coming and they were very thankful for us having them here." Crosier also said he had received three phone calls from concerned parents regarding the show, but that "no one was unreasonable about it." The Indigo Girls have been touring high schools and universities since mid-April to warm up for their upcoming dates on the popular all-women Lilith Fair summer tour. They were also using their current schools tour to reach out to their younger fans in a smaller, noncommercial setting. Principal Gerald Witt of Irmo High School in Irmo, S.C., canceled a show last week originally scheduled for Thursday (May 7) following complaints from parents and students not only about the duo's sexuality but also about holding a concert during a school assembly. When news of that cancellation broke, Ernest Chism, principal at Germantown High School in Germantown, Tenn., followed by calling off a gig scheduled to be held at his school last Tuesday, citing the group's use of the word "fucking" in their song "Shame On You" (RealAudio excerpt) during the tour's first date at Loganville High School in Loganville, Ga., as the reason behind the decision. "Anytime stuff like that happens, it has a tendency to have a snowball effect," National Gay & Lesbian Task Force spokesperson Tracey Conaty said upon learning of the recent Knoxville cancellation. "People get pressure from a small group of local parents and it's very easy to give in to that pressure." As disappointed as she is in the cancellation, Conaty says that just raising awareness of gays and lesbians in these communities is a victory in itself and that if it had to be anyone, she's glad it happened to the Indigo Girls. "They're so articulate and committed to issues of fairness," she explained. "And to have them representing this issue can only benefit everyone involved." The canceled Knoxville show was quickly rescheduled to take place Wednesday night (May 6) at Barley & Hops, a club with a capacity of 500. Barley & Hops owner Sean Blair said he had heard about the cancellations before he was contacted to host the show and was happy to be able to help. "We're glad to have them," Blair said, "and I haven't had any complaints about having them here. Mostly, people are coming up to me and saying, 'Thanks!' " Blair also said that the show starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be free to area high-school students with a valid high-school ID. Everyone else will pay $10. The Irmo High School show was also rescheduled, with the Indigo Girls slated to appear Thursday night (May 7) at the 3,000-capacity Richland Township Auditorium in Columbia, S.C., at 8 p.m. According to Epic Records publicist Lisa Markowitz, 2,000 of those tickets have been set aside for people who show up with a valid student-identification card, while the remaining seats will be available to the general public for $15. Students at Irmo High School and Farragut High School are both planning protests over the cancellations. According to Callahan, students at Farragut High were having a rally after school Wednesday (May 6) at the school's flag pole to protest the cancellation and others have posted signs at the school that read "Indigo Home." In Irmo, students have been handing out flyers that encourage students to walk out of class at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, the day when the Indigo Girls were scheduled to play.
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