Rolling Loud cancels Australian return
Plans for Rolling Loud to return to Australia next year for the first time since 2019 have been cancelled.
The hip-hop festival franchise had been due to land at Sydney’s Giants Stadium and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on 26 & 27 January 2024, respectively, but promoters say the event will no longer take place, citing “circumstances beyond our control”.
“We appreciate the love from all of our fans who are looking forward to Rolling Loud’s return to Australia,” says a statement. “We were hyped to bring the full Rolling Loud experience to our Aussie fans. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond our control, we’re unable to give you a show that lives up to the Rolling Loud standard, so we are left with no choice but to postpone the festival to a later date.
“To those of you who have already bought tickets, we appreciate you. All ticket holders will receive an automatic, full refund.”
Organisers insist a number of yet-to-be-announced side shows set to be held around the festival will still go ahead as planned.
“Rolling Loud will still be hosting a variety of smaller arena shows in early 2024”
“Australian fans, we still got you: Rolling Loud will still be hosting a variety of smaller arena shows in early 2024,” adds the statement.
The Miami-hailing festival has also run events in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Toronto, Rotterdam, Munich and the Algarve, and will launch in Thailand next year.
News of its Australian cancellation comes in the same week that The Weeknd postponed his upcoming Australia & New Zealand stadium tour, citing “unforeseen circumstances”.
The Canadian singer was set to perform 11 dates in the region from 20 November to 9 December this year, spread across Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Sydney’s Accor Stadium, Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium and Eden Park in Auckland.
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Christine and the Queens cancels 2023 dates
Christine and the Queens, also known as Redcar, has cancelled all remaining tour dates for 2023 due to illness.
“Red was taken ill today [16 October] and on advice of doctors forced to make the difficult decision to cancel all remaining tour dates for 2023,” reads a post on Christine and the Queens’ official Instagram account. “It’s not yet known what illness forced the cancellation.”
The French singer was scheduled to perform seven more shows in North America before wrapping the leg on 26 October.
“It’s not yet known what illness forced the cancellation”
Following that, Christine and the Queens was slated to perform a string of shows throughout Europe, including in Belgium and the Netherlands, with a final date scheduled for Paris’ L’Olympia on 27 November.
According to the singer’s statement, full refunds for all dates of the cancelled tour are available at the point of purchase.
The tour was in support of the French singer-songwriter’s most recent album ‘PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE’, which arrived in June of this year and featured the likes of Madonna, 070 Shake and Mike Dean.
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Ed Sheeran show axed last minute due to venue issues
Ed Sheeran’s Saturday concert at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was called off at the last minute due to “flooring issues”.
The 65,000-capacity venue initially warned fans shortly before the concert was due to start that it would be “significantly delayed” but it ended up being cancelled altogether.
The British singer revealed on social media on Sunday that he and his team battled for 24 hours to save the Mathematics Tour show after a “flooring problem” was identified.
The post explained that when the crew were bringing in their equipment ahead of the soundcheck, “rubber tiling had become unstuck – causing two tall towers to slip overnight by about a foot each”.
“We really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything”
“It was a safety issue, and we really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything,” wrote Sheeran. “I really am gutted, this was very much out of my control but I do take full responsibility for everyone that was put out from the cancellation.”
With temperatures over 90 degrees, some fans required medical attention for heat-related issues, the Clark County Fire Department told 8 News Now, with one person transported to a local hospital.
Allegiant Stadium said in a statement that “stadium doors were opened at 5:05 PM to get fans out of the heat and we ensured that anyone requiring assistance received it”.
Sheeran apologised for the lateness of the cancellation: “Nothing will take away from the effort people went to get to Vegas though and I’m sorry it wasn’t communicated sooner to the people waiting outside. We really thought the show was going to happen up until the very last moment but it just couldn’t for safety reasons.”
The show has been rescheduled for 28 October, pushing back the conclusion of the Mathematics Tour. The third and final leg of the 88-date tour had been due to finish at SoFi Stadium on 23 September.
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Noel Gallagher gig cancelled after bomb threat
A Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds concert in New York was cancelled due to a bomb threat shortly before the band were due to take the stage.
Gallagher is in the home stretch of a North America co-headline tour with Garbage, which stopped at the 5,200-cap Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday (8 July).
However, the amphitheatre was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution” following performances by Garbage and support act Metric.
“The New York State Park Police, New York State Police, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Troy Police Department, and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office responded to a bomb threat at Saratoga Performing Arts Center,” says a statement from the emergency services. “Out of an abundance of caution, the concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center was suspended at 9.40 pm and concert attendees were evacuated without incident. K9s completed a sweep of the venue after the crowd exited, with negative results.
Gallagher and Garbage are set to resume their co-headline tour tonight at New York City’s Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage
“This incident is under investigation. This case will be investigated as, Making a Terroristic Threat, a Class D Felony.”
A performance by Kidz Pop at the outdoor venue yesterday was subsequently delayed as a result of inclement weather, with promoter Live Nation Saratoga advising fans to “seek shelter in the venue”.
Gallagher and Garbage are set to resume their tour tonight (10 July) at New York City’s Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage in Central Park. The run will then make further stops at Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion (13 July), Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at the Mann (14 July) and MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston (15 July).
The groups were previously forced to cancel a 28 June show at Breese Stevens Field in Wisconsin because of poor air quality. Promoter FPC Live said the decision was “based on the Public Health Madison & Dane County’s Air Quality Advisory”.
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Gorillaz cancel 2023 North America stadium tour
Gorillaz have scrapped their short run of stadium shows in North America, mere weeks after it was announced.
Damon Albarn’s virtual band was due to play four stadium shows in Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, and Boston this September in support of their new album ‘Cracker Island’.
Kaytranada, Lil Yachty, and Remi Wolf were due to support the band on the outing, dubbed ‘The Gateway Tour’.
“Due to scheduling conflicts and circumstances beyond our control, the previously announced Gorillaz shows in September have been cancelled,” read a statement from ticket providers.
“We are gutted not to be able to perform for you this year”
“Refunds will be issued automatically at your point of purchase and will be processed as quickly as possible, there is nothing further for you to do at this time. Please allow for up to 30 days for the refund to process.”
Gorillaz themselves added: “We are gutted not to be able to perform for you this year. We were really looking forward to it and we hope to get back to you again as soon as we can. We love our Gorillaz family and we can’t wait to see you again.”
In April, Gorillaz performed both Coachella weekends, joined by a bevy of guests, including Bad Bunny, Beck, Yasiin Bey, Thundercat, Little Simz, Del the Funky Homosapien, and the surviving members of De La Soul.
Albarn is on tour with Blur this summer. The outing began last month with some intimate UK warm-up gigs ahead of the Britpop band’s two huge concerts at Wembley Stadium next month.
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Rolling Loud cancels New York festival for 2023
US hip-hop franchise Rolling Loud has cancelled its New York event for 2023, citing “logistical factors beyond our control”.
The Miami-hailing festival first hosted a New York City edition in 2019. After cancelling the 2020 edition due to Covid, further Rolling Loud New York events were held in 2021 and 2022.
In the past week, at least two other 2023 festivals have been cancelled including Sweden’s Summerburst and Bulgaria’s Hills of Rock.
In a statement, Rolling Loud organisers paid homage to previous editions and reassured fans the festival would return sometime in the future.
“We saw the beginning of the King Vamp era, Travis power through his full set through the pain, Parti and Uzi reuniting on stage, Nicki, 50 Cent, and A$AP Rocky putting on iconic headlining performances in their hometown, [and] Juice WRLD’s final festival performance,” reads the statement.
“We’ll be back in New York when the time is right”
“Sadly, due to logistical factors beyond our control, Rolling Loud will not return to New York in 2023. But don’t worry, this isn’t goodbye, more like see you later. We’ll be back in New York when the time is right. In the meantime, we invite all of our New York fans to meet us in Miami 21-23 July for our biggest, best festival of the year.”
Last year’s New York edition took place at Citi Field in Queens between 23-25 September with headliners Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky and Future.
In 2023, Rolling Loud will return to Miami, Los Angeles and Portugal, and make its debut in Germany, the Netherlands and Thailand.
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Croatia’s INmusic pulls 2023 edition due to inflation
INmusic, Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival, has pulled the plug on its 2023 edition due to a myriad of financial challenges.
“The ongoing repercussions of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and general sense of insecurity many of us feel in our everyday lives, have resulted in conditions which do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place,” reads a statement from the organisers.
“In the current circumstances, it is not possible to deliver the best possible international live music programme for a ticket price set in accordance to the local audience’s financial limitations,” it continues.
“[These] conditions do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place”
“Unwilling to give up either one of those principles which make INmusic festival what it is, and honouring your support since 2006 and attendance which enabled the festival to grow and develop with each edition, we have concluded it is best to focus our activities on securing the necessary preconditions for a stable continuity of INmusic festival in the future.”
The annual festival typically takes place across three days in June in the Croatian capital of Zagreb with an international-heavy lineup.
Last year marked INmusic’s 15th edition which was extended from three days to four and featured artists including The Killers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Deftones, Royal Blood, IDLES and Kasabian. Details had not been announced for the 2023 instalment.
The organisers say they are hoping to hold the 16th edition in 2024 and share dates with fans in the following months.
— INmusic festival (@INmusicfestival) February 13, 2023
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Animal Collective axe UK/European tour dates
Animal Collective have pulled the plug on their forthcoming UK and European tour, citing “inflation, currency devaluation, bloated shipping and transportation costs”.
The US band were due to kick off their outing on 2 November in Ireland, with dates in Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow and London before moving on to Europe.
Last night (10 October) the quartet issued a lengthy statement saying they are “choosing not to take the risk to our mental and physical health with the economic reality of what that tour would have been”.
“We simply could not make a budget for this tour that did not lose money even if everything went as well as it could,” the statement read.
“We have always been the kind of people to persevere through the difficult times and get on stage unless our health prevented it… we hope you understand and that you know we would not make a choice like this lightly.”
“We are choosing not to take the risk to our mental and physical health with the economic reality of [the] tour”
Currency devaluation is a growing concern in the touring industry and was noted in a recent IQ interview with AEG Presents UK chief Steve Homer.
“One of the biggest things that’s causing us concern is the pound-to-dollar rate at the moment [the pound hit a record low against the dollar last month but has since rallied 10%],” he said. “We were almost on parity, which has not been something we’ve been familiar with for a long, long time. And it’s really biting in terms of artists touring over here – it becomes far more expensive for them to do it and it’ll be interesting to see how that impacts going forward.
Animal Collective’s statement comes after a slate of tour cancellations from Santigold, Arlo Parks, Shawn Mendes, Sam Fender, Russ, Wet Leg, Disclosure, Placebo, alt-J, Pale Waves and Anthrax, all of whom cited mental health and/or logistical difficulties as the reason.
At the same time, huge tour announcements are stacking up for 2023, with Pink, Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, Lizzo, The 1975 and Dead & Company among the latest artists to confirm major tours.
Read Animal Collective’s full statement below.
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Santigold becomes latest artist to pull tour
Santigold has become the latest artist to pull the plug on a tour, citing a smorgasbord of issues that leave her “simply unable to make it work”.
Her North American tour, ‘Holified’, would have kicked off in Atlanta next month and wrapped up in California by November.
In a lengthy statement posted on her social media channels, the US artist has cited difficulties with inflation and the post-pandemic touring industry among the reasons for the cancellation.
She also said that the financial and emotional toll of touring after the pandemic has left her with “anxiety, insomnia [and] fatigue”.
“I will not continue to sacrifice myself for an industry that has become unsustainable for, and uninterested in the welfare of the artists it is built upon,” she wrote.
Santigold says she “thinks it’s important for people to know the truth of what it’s like out here for artists”
The US artist added that she “thinks it’s important for people to know the truth of what it’s like out here for artists,” and that she doesn’t “believe enough of us are talking about it publicly.” She also said that she’d further elaborate on the reasons for her cancellation in the future.
Santigold is one of many artists to cancel a tour or shows due to similar reasons. Arlo Parks, Shawn Mendes, Sam Fender, Russ, Wet Leg and Disclosure all recently cancelled dates due to welfare concerns, while Placebo, alt-J, Pale Waves and Anthrax are among the acts to cancel due to “logistical issues”.
Santigold concluded her statement by assuring ticket holders that they’d receive refunds, as well as promising them access to her VIP membership for early releases, announcements and other “exclusive experiences… create[ed] just for this group.”
The singer’s Holified tour would have been in support of her fourth studio album, ‘Spirituals’, which was released earlier this month. She is represented by UTA in North America and Andy Duggan at WME rest of the world.
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Afropunk founder cancels new US festival LetsGetFr.ee
LetsGetFr.ee, a new US festival celebrating artists of colour, has been cancelled due to a variety of issues.
Conceived by Afropunk founder Matthew Morgan, the festival has been touted as a “radical movement designed for & by Black, Brown, Asian/Pacific Islander, & LGBTQIA+ fr.ee spirits & creator”.
The two-day ‘conscious carnival’ was scheduled to take place in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York City, in mid-August with artists including Missy Elliot, Anderson .Paak, Ozuna, Wizkid and Jhene Aiko.
“The reason is complex, yet simple: The combination of the shifting dynamics of our industry”
However, LetsGetFr.ee today (29 June) released a statement explaining that the festival’s debut will be pushed back to August 2023: “The reason is complex, yet simple: The combination of the shifting dynamics of our industry, the inflation we’re all feeling and new safety regulations that were recently put in place would have forced us to greatly alter your experience to a smaller, watered-down, inauthentic version.
“And that simply wouldn’t be doing right by the vision, the ambition, our partners and most importantly, you. LetsGetFr.ee was created to do something very different, a first-of-its-kind for the industry, for Queens and for the many vibrant, beautiful communities within and around us. And that’s exactly what we will do.”
Ticketholders have the option to hold on to their original ticket or request a refund. The festival says refunds are scheduled to be processed on or before 15 September.
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