Morris Day Denies That He & The Time Are Performing at Great American State Fair for Freedom 250: ‘It’s a No for Me’

Despite an initial lineup shared Wednesday (May 27), Morris Day is denying that he and his band The Time will play the Great American State Fair event celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

In an Instagram post shared later in the day, Day wrote, “Contrary To Rumor, Morris Day & The Time Will Not Be Performing At The ‘GREAT AMERICAN STATE FAIR.’” A caption for the post adds “It’s a no for me,” with a smiley-face emoji wearing sunglasses.

Morris Day & The Time were listed among the first performers announced for the 16-day event on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, which is set to kick off June 25 and wrap July 10. The eight other acts on the lineup shared by Freedom 250 were Martina McBride, Flo Rida, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, The Commodores and Bret Michaels.

A Great American State Fair description on the Freedom 250 website reads: “The celebration will unite and showcase all 56 U.S. states and territories in a single World’s Fair-scale event. This is an opportunity for visitors from across America to experience an unforgettable celebration of the people and traditions that define our nation.”

Morris Day & The Time were founded in Minneapolis in 1981 by Prince and featured heavily in the pop superstar’s 1984 Purple Rain film. Their Ice Cream Castle album from that era spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits — “Jungle Love” (No. 20) and “The Bird” (No. 36) — while their 1990 comeback album Pandemonium included their highest-charting hit “Jerk Out,” peaking at No. 9 on the Hot 100 and topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.