Toby Keith Is Playing Ribfest, & Some People In Naperville Are Pissed

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 6, 2017 9:55PM

Photo: Ethan Miller

One of the few warm bodies who agreed to perform at President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month, Dubya-era country survivor Toby Keith was announced on Friday as an opening-night performer at the Naperville Ribfest… and the news has not gone over well with many folks in the western suburb.

Ribfest organizers Exchange Club of Naperville made the announcement that suddenly-semi-relevant-in-Trump’s-America Keith would help usher in the annual meaty celebration on June 30, which then runs through July 3. But the decision quickly set off alarm bells on social media, with users frequently citing concerns about Keith’s rather discomfiting 2003 single “Beer for My Horses,” which still sounds an awful lot like a pro-lynching anthem.

Representatives from the Naperville Ribfest and the Exchange Club of Naperville did not immediately return a request for comment, but Erin O'Donnell, a marketing director for the festival told the Tribune that Ribfest organizers are aware of the online outcry and plan to address it.

O'Donnell did not address the "snowflake"-chiding backlash-to-the-backlash which of course arrived like clockwork.

Somehow, we get the feeling that Keith's and Chicago's mutual love of red Solo cups won't be enough to smooth it over.