Placebo drop out of Kazakhstan’s Yandex Park Live
Placebo have cancelled their headline performance at Kazakhstan’s Yandex Park Live, with less than a week to go until the festival.
The new festival has been launched by the organisers behind Moscow’s Park Live, which fell over in 2022 when a raft of international acts pulled out over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Placebo were among the acts that dropped out of the event, alongside My Chemical Romance, Slipknot, Biffy Clyro, Iggy Pop, Deftones, Royal Blood and The Killers.
Now, the British band has stepped back from Kazakhstan edition, set to take place between 6–8 September in the city of Almaty.
“There are compelling circumstantial reasons for this, not related to the professionalism of the organisers, which we were unable to resolve… We apologise profusely to all our fans in Kazakhstan,” reads a statement from the band, which at the same time has pulled out of their upcoming concert in Georgia.
“Consequently, despite the best efforts of our Georgian promoters, this has made it logistically impossible for us to perform in Tbilisi on September 12th.”
“There are compelling circumstantial reasons for this, not related to the professionalism of the organisers, which we were unable to resolve”
“This is what life is all about,” reads a statement from Yandex Park Live. “There are unexpected things that make you disappointed. Even though we are not the ones who made such a difficult decision, we do not want to blame anyone. No matter what, we have to move forward. Our mission is to engage and uplift the people of the world.”
The festival has now lost two major international acts after British rock band Editors pulled out over the alleged Russian links of the headline sponsor, Yandex.
“Having now been informed who the sponsor of the event is, we have decided to withdraw our involvement,” they wrote on social media at the time. “We dearly hope to come back to Kazakhstan in the future, under different circumstances.”
Editors were replaced by The Kooks who, following Placebo’s cancellation, have been bumped up the bill to the closing slot on Sunday 8 September.
Die Antwoord and Tyga are scheduled to headline the Friday and Saturday, respectively, with Oliver Tree, Tom Meighan, Dizzee Rascal and Yonaka among the international acts that are further down the bill.
One-day tickets to the festival cost KZT 25,000 (€48) for Friday and KZT 30,000 (€58) for Saturday and Sunday. Three-day entry costs KZT 60,000 (€116) and one-day VIP tickets are KZT 135,000 (€262).
Ticketholders for Sunday 8 September have been offered full refunds, as well as free entry to Friday or Saturday of the event and a 50% discount on one day of Yandex Park Live festival in the future.
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Placebo, Blondie and more teased for new Oz festival
Australian promoter Apex Entertainment is teasing a new touring festival featuring rock and post-punk icons.
Pandemonium Rocks is scheduled to land in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast this April and is slated to feature the long-awaited Australia returns of many legendary acts.
The promoter has hinted at performances from the likes of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Blondie, Gang Of Four, Dead Kennedys, The Psychedelic Furs, Placebo and Wheatus, via several teaser posts on social media.
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If all the acts teased do indeed make it to Australia, Pandemonium Rocks will mark Deep Purple’s first performance Down Under in eleven years, Blondie’s first gigs in the country since 2017, Gang Of Four’s first Ozzie shows in five years, Wheatus’ first shows in the territory in twelve years, and Placebo’s first concerts there in seven years.
According to local reports, the lineup for Pandemonium Rocks will be officially confirmed on 17 January.
The festival’s promoter, Apex Entertainment, is led by Andrew McManus who has promoted tours for the likes of Whitney Houston, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss and Mötley Crüe.
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Placebo postpone North American tour
Placebo have postponed their entire North American tour just two days before it was due to begin, citing “visa and logistical issues”.
The British rock band were due to launch the tour in Canada at the 990-cap Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on Sunday (4 September) before switching to the US.
The 10-date run – the group’s first US tour in eight years – was scheduled to conclude with a two-night stand at Brooklyn Steel (cap. 1,800) in New York from 18-19 September.
“We are devastated to announce the postponement of our North American tour… This is due to unprecedented visa and logistical issues beyond our control,” says a statement published on the band’s social media channels.
“We are doing everything we can to reschedule the tour as soon as possible”
“We are so disappointed and frustrated and so very sorry to let our US fans down after waiting so patiently for us to come and play for you. We are doing everything we can to reschedule the tour as soon as possible and we will announce the rescheduled dates soon. Please hang onto your tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled dates. Refunds will be available at point of purchase.”
The Brian Molko-fronted band are due to return to action in Europe next month, kicking off at Frankfurt’s Festhalle on 1 October.
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