In a press release from Royal Mountain Records, Bells Larsen (pictured above) described receiving a notice from the American Federation of Musicians notifying him that he is unable to apply for a visa to perform, due to the recent change applied by the Trump administration stating that US Immigration is only permitted to accept identification corresponding with one’s sex assigned at birth. 

In another statement posted to Instagram, T. Thomason announced cancellation of his festival appearance at Belfast, Maine’s All Roads Music Festival, showing support for Larsen and calling upon SOCAN and other creative funding organizations to provide support. 

“The irony of this announcement falling exactly two weeks before the release of my album, which is about my transition, is not lost on me,” says Larsen in the statement. He goes on to describe weighing out possibilities about how to continue with the tour as planned – such as only performing in blue states, travelling by plane, or handing over the passport stamped with an “M” and hoping for the best – but ultimately decided that the risk was too high when his performances were set to actively revolve around his experience as a trans man. 

“The accumulation of border horror stories + worried check-in texts from loved ones + increasingly troublesome updates on the news and on official government websites with regards to travel precautions has resulted in a plethora of nightmares and anxiety,” he says. “If random people are getting randomly questioned/stopped/detained at borders, how can I—as someone wanting to make money abroad by exhibiting my lived experience as a trans person—expect to pass go and get out of jail free?”

Larsen goes on to express heartbreak at being unable to tour behind a project that he calls “his life’s work” and connect with others who share similar stories and journeys. “More than anything, I just really wanted to perform my album for queer and trans people in the US who saw their stories reflected in my own,” he says. “As Marian Wright Edelman says, you can’t be what you can’t see.”

Photo credit: boy wonder

Thomason’s corresponding statement additionally nodded to the industry side of things, noting that the United States has always been looked at by labels as an important market and a measure of success for a Canadian artist if they’re able to make the leap and break into it. He goes on to decry a world where unfair barriers have been placed on trans artists, describing the hit to a career that could happen when one isn’t able to safely travel to a market full of potential fans. 

“I am asking Canadian music funding bodies to respond with funding streams specifically for trans artists who will have to pivot career plans now that we are barred from entering the biggest music market in the world, and refocus touring/export efforts on accessing much more expensive markets like Europe and the UK,” he says.