Cory Pesaturo isn’t the typical musician in the crowd at the Grammys.
Firstly, He’s a three-time accordion world champion and maybe the only attendee known for his work with the box-shaped instrument popular in various folk traditions. Secondly, and perhaps making him more unique in that audience, he wasn’t infatuated with Bad Bunny and the land acknowledgement virtue signaling by millionaire celebrities.
Pesaturo shared his thoughts on his Instagram stories on February 1 as he sat in the crowd at the awards. One of the posts in question was on Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny, real name Benito Ocasio, who said during his speech: “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out. We are not savage. We are not animals. We are not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans … the hate gets more powerful with more hate.”
“The first time in history an album with zero English wins the most important award, Album of the Year,” Pesaturo’s post said. “The guy who hates America… cheered on by those who hate America.”
A few Instagram stories watched by approximately 100-150 followers were enough to get him axed from Festa Italiana, which is scheduled for June 6-7 in San Francisco’s North Beach. It’s an annual, all-ages celebration hosted by The SFIAC Foundation, a nonprofit that’s “focused on community events, revitalization and engagement that enhances the Italian culture and history of North Beach.”
Another post defended the idea of colonization, suggesting that without it, Native Americans would still be stuck with ancient methods.
“Only a hundred to one hundred fifty people watch my stories,” Pesaturo insisted during an interview with The Daily Wire.
After Pesaturo posted his Grammy commentary, a member of the festival’s board was rumored to be unhappy with the post. His closest contact at the festival called to break the news: they weren’t going to have him perform as planned at the 2026 show.
He claims the reasoning for his cancellation came down to fear from the person in charge.
“He doesn’t want to deal with the bullsh*t of the people on his board that do not want to hire me because of… what I could say,” Pesaturo explained. “They’re worried you’re going to come to the festival, not have a good time, and then start attacking us.”
Pesaturo’s cancellation is just the latest example of how the woke mob operates, not through official channels or public debate, but through back-channel pressure on people who would rather avoid conflict. The festival organizer wasn’t willing to defend Pesaturo. He preferred to cater to the ones who make the most noise.
Pesaturo, who describes himself as “anti-leftist” and “more libertarian” rather than conservative or Republican, has always been careful about where and how he expresses political opinions.
“I do not believe in that idea at all,” he said about celebrities using their platforms to push political views. “Do you want the waitress coming over to give you French toast to say, oh, before I give you this, I want to tell you my opinion on abortion? Nobody would agree to that.”
“So I never say anything social or political at a concert,” he continued. “You will never find a clip of me saying anything remotely controversial there.”
The only place he posts opinion content is on Instagram stories, which automatically disappear after 24 hours and are viewed by a tiny fraction of his followers.
The musician expressed shock that Italians of all people would punish him for expressing mainstream conservative viewpoints since that demographic leans heavily to the right of center.
“Italians came here with nothing, with no welfare … were discriminated against. And it’s the ultimate pull yourself up by your bootstraps legacy that Italians came here,” Pesaturo told The Daily Wire. “So they’re mostly conservative. They hate free money going out. They hate paying taxes.”
Organizers for the festival did not return The Daily Wire’s request for comment.
The musician is particularly upset that this happened with Festa Italiana. Pesaturo mentioned another festival he headlines annually that’s “as left as it gets,” mentioning how he has no problems there despite having opposite political views compared to almost everyone involved. “The head of the festival is pretty left. And we’re very good friends. And I’m the headliner every year.”
When I asked if he would change anything he posted, his answer was unequivocal: “No, I mean, this is what I told him. I said I will not be silenced. Especially when everyone in my industry is forcing things upon people.”
“He just didn’t want to deal with. It’s kind of the same story,” Pesaturo said. “They don’t want to deal with the woke bullsh** around them. So instead of fighting, they just say, yeah, we’re going to bow to them.”
And that’s how a world-class musician got canceled from an Italian festival for Instagram stories seen by about 100 people. It’s because even when conservatives are in power, standing up to the woke mob is often seen as more trouble than it’s worth.
