Lorde has pulled the plug on an Aussie festival performance and plans for another Down Under tour later this year, before fans of the New Zealand’s newest musical export even had a chance to know about them.
Currently touring exclusively as part of the Laneway Festival, which hits Adelaide and Perth this weekend, the 17-year-old ‘Royals’ hit-maker had previously teased plans of a return headline tour of the Antipodes in “April-ish.”
However, it’s now been revealed that any plans to return for another Aussie tour have been scrapped, including an appearance as a ‘secret headliner’ for Adelaide’s Gear Up festival later this month, as a statement from organisers now reveals.
The news comes via Adelaide’s Rip It Up magazine (as FasterLouder points out), who report that Lorde was booked to play the UniSA O’Week music festival and was to be announced as part of the lineup this month, but the Grammy-winning Kiwi has cancelled her Gear Up appearance in favour of capitalising on her success overseas, chiefly in America.
“Unfortunately due to the fact that Lorde is becoming one of the biggest & buzziest artists in the world right now, she is under a lot of pressure from everywhere in the world and it ultimately leads to timelines and goalposts shifting constantly and very quickly,” reads a statement from Lorde’s booking agency.
The agency also admits that her US tour plans have extended “above and beyond” expected, leading to the Adelaide festival cancellation and plans for a return Aussie visit. “Unfortunately due to the fact that Lorde is becoming one of the biggest & buzziest artists in the world right now, she is under a lot of pressure from everywhere in the world…”
Lorde’s current 2014 itinerary includes a 16-date US tour kicking off in March, as well as festival appearances at Coachella 2014 and Lollapalooza in April.
While her chart-topping, history-making success have given her international ubiquity, Lorde was actually booked by the Gear Up festival organisers back in May 2013, back when she was just a 16-year-old with a single EP to her name making her debut tour visit to Australia, and long before she released her platinum-selling debut album Pure Heroine, and penultimate placing on the Hottest 100 made her a household name.
“It’s been an amazing rise for Lorde and we are extremely happy for her success. Unfortunately, this success has meant that she has had to pull-out of her commitment to appear at Gear Up 2014,” said festival spokesperson Anne Marie Parsons in a statement. “Of course we are extremely disappointed Lorde will not perform.”
Melbourne sextet Alpine and a DJ set from Miami Horror have been announced to replace Lorde on the Gear Up 2014 lineup. The festival takes place on Friday 28th February at UniSA’s City West Campus and also features sets from Pond, San Cisco, Deep Sea Arcade, The Kill Girls, Tkay Maidza, Bottlerockest, Valkyries, Dead End Friends, and DJ Faint One.
It’s not the first time that Lorde’s success in America has cancelled tour plans. The singer was scheduled to perform in her native country as part of the Laneway Festival Auckland lineup, but owing to a clash with attending the Grammys – where she eventually won two of the four awards she was nominated for – she had to can her festival slot. Instead, she made it up to her NZ fans with a standalone headline sideshow at the Laneway festival site at Silo Park as a replacement.
The last opportunity for Aussie fans to catch Lore live(for what may be quite some time) is with the Australian Laneway Festival. Having performed at Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney last week, the boutique event wraps up with the final legs in Adelaide and Perth this week. Details and set times for the remaining dates, along with Gear Up 2014 info, below.
(Image: Liam Cameron. Source: Laneway Festival 2014 Sydney Gallery)
Laneway Festival 2014 Set Times – Adelaide
Friday 7th February – Harts Mill, Port Adelaide
View/download the Adelaide Laneway Map here
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Laneway Festival 2014 Set Times – Perth
Saturday 8th February – Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle
View/download the Perth Laneway Map here
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Gear Up Festival 2014
Alpine
Miami Horror DJs
San Cisco
Pond
Deep Sea Arcade
The Killgirls
Valkyries
Dead End Friends
DJ Faint One
Tkay Maidza
Friday 28th February – UniSA City West Campus, Adelaide
Tickets available from Moshtix
