The election is probably the furthest thing from the minds of the good people of Cleveland this week. But if you absolutely, positively have to distract people from the fact that the Cleveland Indians have the opportunity to take home a World Series win for the first time since 1948, bringing Jay Z to town isn’t such a bad plan.
Jay Z will perform at a special concert in the city specifically designed to motivate young black voters to go out to the polls and support Hillary Clinton, like they supported Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections. As Buzzfeed puts it, “high turnout among younger voters of color would make it virtually impossible for Trump to win” in Ohio, where Clinton has been trailing more consistently than in other battleground states. The concert will take place on November 4, just four days before the general election, and tickets will be distributed starting Friday on a first-come, first-served basis.
One might argue that Jay‘s efforts would be better concentrated in redder parts of the state, like the Indiana and Kentucky-adjacent Republican stronghold (and this writer’s hometown) of Cincinnati. On the other hand, the lady who wore a homemade “Trump can grab my pussy” shirt to a rally in that city—although there’s about a 99 percent chance she’s from the suburbs—probably wouldn’t come out for a Jay Z concert anyway. A free Rascal Flatts show with pre-show tailgaiting/consent workshop might do the trick, though.
That’s not happening, sadly, but hometown heroes The National will be performing in Cincinnati on November 2, bringing out the Game Of Thrones fans in support of another ambitious blonde looking to take charge of her family’s political legacy. Meanwhile, Jon Bon Jovi is set to perform in Pittsburgh in support of Clinton, Katy Perry will do the same in Philadelphia on November 6, and Jennifer Lopez will try to get young Latino voters to the polls with a free concert in Miami on October 29.