Bruce Springsteen postpones European shows
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have cancelled four dates on their European stadium outing due to “vocal issues”.
The Boss was scheduled to perform at Orange Vélodrome in Marseille on Saturday (25 May), but the gig was postponed at the last minute because of the vocal issues, citing “doctor’s direction”.
“Further examination and consulting has led doctors to determine that Bruce should not perform for the next ten days,” Springsteen’s official social media accounts said in a statement Sunday.
“Bruce is recuperating comfortably, and he and the E Street Band look forward to resuming their European stadium tour”
In addition to the Marseille gig, the impacted concerts include a 28 May show in Prague and a pair of dates, 1 and 3 June, at Milan’s San Siro Stadium.
Following the Milan concerts, Springsteen and the E Street Band had a prescheduled week-long break between shows, which will hopefully provide enough time for the singer to recuperate until the tour resumes on 12 June in Madrid.
“New dates for these shows will be announced shortly,” the statement continued. “Those wishing a refund will be able to obtain it at their original point of purchase. Bruce is recuperating comfortably, and he and the E Street Band look forward to resuming their hugely successful European stadium tour on June 12 in Madrid at the magnificent Civitas Metropolitan.”
Springsteen’s 20-plus date European stadium run with The E Street Band kicked off in the UK at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on 5 May, and will finish at London’s Wembley Stadium on 25 & 27 July. It will also take in France, Czechia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
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More than 40 UK festivals cancelled for 2024
More than 40 UK festivals have been postponed, cancelled or shut down in 2024, according to a new report from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).
Bradford’s Challenge Festival is the latest casualty, with the free event axed just days before it was scheduled due to “unrealistic demands” being placed on the organisers.
In the past five years alone, 172 festivals in the UK have disappeared, according to AIF, the UK’s leading not-for-profit festival trade association.
Of those, 96 events were lost due to Covid-19, 36 were lost throughout 2023, and 40 have been lost since the start of the year.
El Dorado, Pennfest, Connect Music Festival, 110 Above Festival, NASS Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot, Barn On The Farm and Splendour are among this year’s losses, with the majority of organisers blaming a significant increase in operational costs.
AIF has warned that without intervention, the country will see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to unpredictable rising costs.
“The speed of festival casualties in 2024 shows no sign of slowing”
In response to the crisis, the trade association has launched a campaign called Five Percent For Festivals that aims to inform festivalgoers about the problems that organisers have faced over the last five years, encouraging them to contact their MPs to lobby for a VAT reduction on tickets.
It states that temporary support from the UK Government – lowering VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent on ticket sales for the next three years – is all that’s needed to give festival promoters the space they need to rebuild.
“The speed of festival casualties in 2024 shows no sign of slowing,” says AIF CEO John Rostron said. “We are witnessing the steady erosion of one of the UK’s most successful and culturally significant industries not because of a lack of demand from the public but because of unpredictable, unsustainable supply chain costs and market fluctuations.”
“In asking for a temporary reduction in VAT related to ticket sales, we have provided the government with a considered, targeted and sensible solution, which would save this important sector. We need action now.”
Challenges are being felt by festivals of all sizes across Europe, with FKP Scorpio’s Stephan Thanscheidt recently telling IQ that it “has become very challenging to promote festivals in a way that keeps pushing things forward and is economically viable.”
Read the full 2024 festival preview, which also features Christof Huber (Gadget, Yourope) and Jim King (AEG Presents), here.
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The Weeknd’s delayed Oz/NZ tour officially axed
The Weeknd’s highly anticipated return to Australia and New Zealand has officially been cancelled.
The stadium outing was first postponed in November 2023, just three weeks before it was due to kick off due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Australian event ticketing company Ticketek informed ticketholders on Tuesday (23 April) that the Canadian singer, real name Abel Tesfaye, would not be making the trip Down Under.
“The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ for Australia & New Zealand is still in process of being rescheduled,” Ticketek revealed.
“Whilst we continue to work through the rescheduling process with the artist, tickets for the existing 2023 tour will be cancelled. All purchased tickets will receive a full refund,” they continued.
“The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ for Australia & New Zealand is still in process of being rescheduled”
Ticketek is encouraging ticket holders to join the waitlist for a forthcoming announcement to gain access to a priority pre-sale.
Originally, The Weeknd was due to perform 11 dates in the region including at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Sydney’s Accor Stadium, Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium and Eden Park in Auckland.
The Weeknd launched his After Hours til Dawn stadium tour in summer 2022 and grossed US$130 million from 19 shows that year.
He returned to the road in June 2023 and completed 42 shows in Europe and Latin America, earning $220,985,529 at the box office from a ticket total of 2.2 million.
During the European leg, the star smashed Wembley Stadium’s record for sales with a traditional concert set up with 87,000 tickets sold. The artist also set a new attendance record for London Stadium after drawing 160,000 fans over two nights in July 2023.
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Jonas Brothers postpone European tour
Jonas Brothers have postponed the upcoming European leg of their world tour, citing unforeseen scheduling conflicts.
The leg was originally due to commence in May but has now been pushed back to 9 September where it’ll kick off at the SSE Arena in Belfast and wrap on 16 October at Tauron Arena in Krakow.
The trio, comprising Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas, were the first act to be confirmed for the opening season at Manchester’s Co-op Live. The 17 June date has now been rescheduled for 12 September.
In a joint statement, Jonas Brothers did not provide any details about the reason for the cancellation but hinted that some upcoming projects led to the rescheduled dates.
“We have shifted the European dates to later this year and that is only because we have some exciting projects that we are excited to share with you at a later point,” they said in a statement posted on social media.
“Our European fans, we love you and can’t wait to see you. It’s been long overdue and we are so excited to play these shows later this year in the fall. So make sure to hold on to your tickets. We will have more information to come, but we cannot wait to see you. Thank you for all your support over all these years.”
According to the band, all previously purchased tickets will remain valid for the new dates.
The new dates are:
Mon Sept 9 – Belfast – SSE Arena
Tue Sept 10 – Dublin – 2Arena
Thurs Sept 12 – Manchester – CO-OP Live
Fri Sept 13 – Glasgow – OVO Hydro
Sun Sept 15 – Birmingham – Utilita Arena
Mon Sept 16 – London – The O2 Arena
Tue Sept 17 – London – The O2 Arena
Fri Sept 20 – Munich – Olymphiahalle
Sun Sept 22 – Vienna – Stadthalle
Tue Sept 24 – Milan – Forum
Thurs Sept 26 – Barcelona – Paulu Sant Jordi
Sat Sept 28 – Lyon – LDLC Arena
Sun Sept 29 – Zurich – Hallenstadion
Tue Oct 1 – Antwerp – Sportpaleis
Wed Oct 2 – Cologne – Lanxess Arena
Thurs Oct 3 – Amsterdam – Ziggo Dome
Sun Oct 6 – Oslo – Spektrum
Tue Oct 8 – Copenhagen – Royal Arena
Wed Oct 9 – Hamburg – Barclaycard Arena
Sun Oct 13 – Paris – Accor Arena
Tue Oct 15 – Prague – O2 Arena
Wed Oct 16 – Krakow – Tauron Arena
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Woodstock Korea hits another roadblock
The Korean edition of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair has been postponed, following a raft of issues.
The event was due to take place later this month at the Multipurpose Square in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, and would’ve been the legendary festival’s first incarnation outside of the US.
“The Woodstock festival has been postponed to 7-9 October to ensure a safe event operation and to work on the event’s completion. The festival is being postponed, not cancelled,” reads a statement from organisers.
Currently, the lineup is mainly rock and pop acts from Asia, including Japanese hard rock veterans Loudness and a number of seasoned Korean artists.
In early July, the organisers also announced that several overseas artists, including Akon and New Hope Club, would be performing, but these artists did not update the new Woodstock festival changes on their respective home page schedules, prompting doubts about their participation in October.
“The Woodstock festival has been postponed to ensure a safe event operation and to work on the event’s completion”
The festival has already gone through multiple challenges since it was announced in January, including criticism over the choice of venue, a constantly shifting lineup and high ticket prices.
Following criticisms regarding the latter, organisers slashed the three-day ticket price from 400,000 won ($310) to 150,000 ($117).
The original Woodstock festival was held in 1969, with anniversary events taking place in 1994, 1999 and 2009. A 50th-anniversary event was slated for 2019 but was ultimately cancelled due to financial problems.
In 2010, there was an attempt to host a Woodstock festival in Korea, but it never took place because of “copyright and artist lineup issues,” according to the Korea Herald.
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