Canadian singer-songwriter Bells Larsen has canceled his upcoming U.S. tour dates thanks to the Trump administration’s new rules targeting transgender visa applicants.

Larsen, whose sophomore album Blurring Time will be released on April 25, had been scheduled to perform in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other U.S. cities this June. But in a Friday, April 11, Instagram post, the musician announced that he’d been forced to cancel all American dates on his upcoming tour after being told he would not be able to get a U.S. visa.

Related

Trans actress Hunter Schafer’s passport now says she’s male because of Donald Trump
The “Euphoria” star expressed her shock that it actually happened: “I just feel like it’s important to share that it’s not just talk.”

Larsen said he’d received an email from the American Federation of Musicians informing him that he would not be able to apply for a visa “because US Immigration only recognizes identification that corresponds with one’s assigned sex at birth.”

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

In late February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memo directing U.S. consulates and immigration offices worldwide to ban transgender visa applicants under a section of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act requiring a “permanent fraud bar” for people who lie on their visa applications. Rubio’s directive followed President Donald Trump’s February 5 executive order calling for a national and international ban on trans female athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. However, as legal experts have noted, the new visa guidance’s language is so broad it applies to all new transgender visa applicants.

“To put it super plainly,” Larsen wrote in his Instagram statement, “because I’m trans (and have an M on my passport), I can’t tour in the States.”

Larsen explained that he’d been considering canceling his U.S. dates for weeks, while also approaching his tour with “harm reduction in mind.”

“I planned on traveling with another guy (who is cis), handing border agents a Visa and passport with M’s on them, crossing borders via plane, and performing in exclusively blue states,” he wrote. “I thought I’d be good to go, but the distressing stories, texts, and updates kept multiplying.”

Larsen said that after speaking with two immigration lawyers and receiving word from the American Federation of Musicians, it became clear “that there is no way to move forward here.”

The Trump administration’s new visa policy, he said, “has crushed my dreams.” Larsen explained that he’d hoped Blurring Time, which is built around his transition, would help him break into the U.S. music market and connect with other American musicians.

“More than anything, though, 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 wrote.

On Monday, April 14, United Musicians and Allied Workers responded to Larsen’s announcement in an X post blasting the new U.S. new anti-trans visa policy. “Trans musicians like Bells Larsen… deserve safety, dignity, and access to work,” the union wrote. “The Trump administration is weaponizing their inhumane immigration and visa policies in new horrifying ways every day, and we cannot allow it.”

In his Instagram post, Larsen confirmed that his Canadian tour would go on as planned.

“I will continue to be my most authentic self in the public eye in the hopes that others might find courage and solace in the music I make,” he wrote. “I consider it an honour, a challenge, and a duty to bring queer joy, power, and catharsis to audiences through my project and I can’t wait to perform Blurring Time on stages across Canada this spring, summer, and fall.”

He also called for solidarity among Canadian performers and asked that other musicians consider inviting him to accompany them on their Canadian and European tours “so that I can offer my album the longevity that it deserves.”

On Monday, Larsen announced that he will open for Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan on his upcoming Canadian dates this fall.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.