Twice cancelled Aus concert tour will add more bands at “no extra cost”

Under The Southern Stars tour, featuring Cheap Trick, Bush, and Stone Temple Pilots was scheduled to begin on April 30th but has now been postponed for a second time.

Outrage by fans on social media has been met with an announcement from promoter Promoter Andrew McManus saying he was likely to add one or two more bands to the tour, with Creed, Ugly Kid Joe, The Psychedelic Furs and Puddle of Mud among the contenders, at “no extra cost”.

The postponement was announced on Wednesday and has upset fans who have questioned why the Victorian government has allowed 80,000 people to attend the MCG on Anzac Day but won’t allow a mainly outdoor concert.

“Blame our government’s commitment to crowded sports matches still going ahead and their indifference to live music,” commented one annoyed user on the Facebook announcement.

“Yet footy stadiums can be full. Were the artists told that they wouldn’t have to quarantine or something? The vaccine roll out hasn’t impacted sport. Move to outdoor venues and get rocking people,” said another user.

The cancellation has been blamed on the slow rollout of vaccines in Australia. “There is no confidence that we can keep all safe and proceed as planned at our festivals this May,” the festival shared in a statement.

“The continuing mismanagement of the Covid-19 situation at all levels of government has led to numerous inconsistencies and on-going broken promises by officials that ultimately affect the safety of our patrons, artists and our crews, both domestic and international.”

News.com.au has reported that McManus has asked ticket holders to stick with him, and he was likely to add one or two more bands to the tour.

“We get it … how many times can the Australian system force another postponement? So we are making the hard decision to reschedule Under The Southern Stars to the first quarter of 2022 and ask that all our valued supporters hold on to their tickets and in return we will be announcing some truly exciting additions to the line-up and festival circuit!” The statement continued.

“We are planning on making Under The Southern Stars bigger and better. It will absolutely be worth the wait.”

All tickets that have been purchased will be valid for use for the new date once which is TBC.

For more on this topic, head to Live Music Observer.

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