Bands and artists cancel tours all the time. Nobody likes it, least of all the promoters of the tour and right behind them are the artists in question. But for one reason or another, it happens.
Most of the time, ticket-holders are handed a standard press release in which the cancellation is blamed on “schedule conflicts” or illness, regardless of whether either of these things are actually true.
That’s why it was so refreshing when Aussie band Closure In Moscow announced the cancellation of their Australian tour by kicking it straight to their fans and explaining the real reason behind the cancellation.
“The usual reasons for cancellation, they’re often not what [is said to fans]. ‘Due to unforseen circumstances’ – that’s got to be one of the greatest lines of rock ‘n’ roll,” Bluesfest founder Peter Noble recently told The Music Network.
Noble’s seen his share of cancelled appearances. Bluesfest 2014 alone saw drop-outs from headliners The Black Keys, who cancelled at the last minute, as well as Ben Howard and fellow headliner Lenny Kravitz.
According to Noble, at the time he was forced to just release each artist’s official statement, but he admits the official line is rarely the actual reason behind a cancellation and has more to do with an “artist’s image”.
“The Black Keys drummer had… his shoulder was shattered, it wasn’t dislocated,” said Noble. “His bone was shattered from some body surfing accident in the Caribbean. The chances of him coming were very, very low.”
“I don’t think that anybody should have been misled about it – including myself who was only given medical reports a week out.” As TMN writes, Noble called out Kravitz in a January Facebook Q&A.
“It seems Lenny Kravitz’ concert ticket sales in 2015 were low. As a festival, we MUST have confidence that the artists who contract with us to perform will actually show up!”
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“We believe [he] should have came, and meet [sic] his contractual obligations. The fact that he didn’t, it is highly unlikely that we will have an interest in him in the future.”
Noble agreed that cancellations are bad for business, though he’s looking forward to a long and successful future for Bluesfest, which is set to kick off later this month with headliner Kendrick Lamar.
“I just think the fans ought to be considered,” he said. “I do it every day of my life. For me that’s why I’m in this business. I love it, I want to be in it, I want to work in it, I want to succeed in it, and I know I’m not there without the fans.”
