NORTH MANKATO — Attendees of Music in the Park on Thursday evening were met with an unusual sight — official North Mankato city signs posted on either side of the stage at Wheeler Park, cautioning concertgoers about the content of the evening’s performance by local band Joe Tougas & Associates.
The announcement read “the views expressed by the band or its members are their own and do not represent the city of North Mankato.”
City administrator Kevin McCann said the decision followed concerns raised by several residents regarding a comic created and posted on band member Kat Baumann’s personal Facebook account. The comic is an illustration of what is presumably Charlie Kirk’s grave — a right-wing activist, media personality and founder of Turning Point USA, who was assassinated Wednesday at a Utah college, prompting controversial discourse online.
“You don’t have to celebrate someone’s death if you don’t want to,” the comment from Baumann above the comic reads. “But save your heartache instead for the families kidnapped by ICE on their way to church, for trans people and immigrants who are constantly scapegoated by rich bigots, for black Americans killed by police at routine traffic stops, for children gunned down in school because people like Charlie Kirk work so hard to prevent legislation on gun reform. Save it.”
McCann said multiple residents called for the cancellation of the event, but after consulting with the city attorney, posted the announcements by the stage instead.
“We’re not going to know everybody’s backgrounds and their performance. It might potentially be something that people disagree with,” McCann said. “We’re just going to maintain that we’re a neutral host, and we want to maintain that we don’t support those specific comments, but we’re welcoming this free event for people to enjoy the music.”
The signs were placed just before showtime, according to a Facebook post by Tougas, who called the move “a first” in his years of playing and attending free city concerts. He said he was made aware a few hours before the show there was concern that “inflammatory” comments would be made by the band.
“It set us up — as though we were now expected to do or say something shocking and that people should be braced for something offensive. Not the vibe we were going for, and that bugged me,” he said.
The Music in the Park series is a longstanding community event, typically drawing families and local music fans to enjoy live performances every Thursday evening. No other acts in recent memory have faced similar public disclaimers, according to the post made by Tougas.
Tougas described the decision to post the warnings as an “odd and clunky thing to do,” though the band proceeded with the performance without interference. McCann said the new signage policy will apply to all upcoming city-sponsored performances — though signs will likely be smaller — to serve as a reminder of the city’s neutrality.
Baumann said there was no direct communication from the city regarding the post before arriving to sound check.
“My first reaction was that kind of innate sort of panic at the thought that I’d put my fellow band members in an awkward position,” Baumann said. “I think it’s unfair to make my bandmates answer for the things I post as an individual exercising my right to free speech.”