The David Bowie tribute concerts scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday in New York feature all-star lineups, including Cat Power, Michael Stipe, Cyndi Lauper, Laurie Anderson, the Mountain Goats, and until recently the Roots.
But Roots drummer Questlove posted to Instagram Wednesday night that the band, Kimbra, and Bilal will not perform.
“The Roots/Bilal/Kimbra (w/ Wendy Melvoin, DD Jackson & Ray Angry) pulled out of these Bowie gigs. We have patience,” he wrote. “But we do NOT have patience for the #Bitchassness.”
The “bitchassness” he’s referring to is that of unnamed musicians who wouldn’t let the Roots use their equipment. “I’ve never been so insecure or petty as to deny a fellow musician use of ANY of my equipment (or my band’s equipment—-or resources or contacts or knowledge or ANYTHING) it angers me when that same courtesy is not reciprocated,” he wrote before announcing their departure from the billing.
Representatives for the concerts, which will be held at Carnegie Hall on Thursday and Radio City Music Hall on Friday, did not return EW’s immediate request for comment.
See Questlove’s full remarks below.
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