Sackbut alerted us to this infuriating clusterfuck:

Immigration lawyers believe the State Department has been denying more artist visas after President Trump ordered heightened vetting for all visa applications earlier this year.

In a March 6 memo, released after Trump issued his second executive order on immigration, the president directed “immediate implementation of additional heightened screening and vetting protocols and procedures for issuing visas.” The memo, according to some prominent attorneys who specialize in artist travel, has further complicated the subjective process international artists must navigate to perform in the U.S., and in some cases, [had an impact on] programming for local arts organizations.

Programmers at the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF), a Grammy-winning event that caters to