Music fans are sick of artists cancelling gigs – it’s disrespectful

Being a megafan is an expensive hobby (Picture: Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

If you’re a huge fan of an artist, seeing them live can be one of the best moments of your life. 

Many book flights and hotels abroad, while paying an arm and a leg for ridiculously expensive tickets. Being a megafan is an expensive hobby.

So when musicians cancel at the last minute due to medical or personal reasons, it’s utterly devastating – but understandable.

It’s less understandable when the reason is a vague ‘scheduling conflict’ that leaves fans stranded in another country – hundreds of pounds out of pocket, and with a refund for nothing but the concert ticket. That’s just rude.

Enter Chappell Roan – who is the biggest breakout music star of 2024, and deservedly so.

The Pink Pony Club singer wrote on social media this week, with just days’ notice: ‘Due to scheduling conflicts, I have had to make the extremely hard decision to cancel my Paris and Amsterdam shows. I have rescheduled my Berlin show to 23 September. I am so sorry & very disappointed. I promise I will be back. I’m heartbroken. thank you for understanding.’

Although she has rescheduled the Berlin performance, many fans highlighted that they had already flown to the German capital for the gig and were now stuck paying for a hotel and flight for no reason whatsoever.

Chappell owes it to fans to be honest and specific about why she’s cancelling so last minute (Picture: Marleen Moise/Getty Images)

‘We’ve booked flights and a hotel, flying tomorrow from the UK to Berlin. Not cool at all. Hundreds of pounds wasted,’ said Domsims on X. ‘I’m literally at the airport right NOW cause I was supposed to come to your Berlin date. I’m so extremely disappointed, next time maybe don’t share this information this late,’ Destineddeath99 added.

Some fans speculated that Chappell Roan may have cancelled the show to prepare for the MTV VMAs on September 11, where she will perform live at New York City’s UBS Arena. Ouch.

If ‘scheduling conflicts’ was a euphemism and there’s another reason Chappell is cancelling – a real one – then we’re with her wholeheartedly. Of course, musicians are people too and should be treated with the same level of respect and sympathy employers might have if a staff member calls in sick.

But Chappell owes it to fans to be honest and specific about why she’s cancelling so last minute.

Adele was a brilliant example of this when she took to social media in 2022 with a video of herself in floods of tears explaining how the show for her Las Vegas residency ‘just ain’t ready’ and she was being forced to postpone – even if this did come a day before it was due to start.

She was transparent, and clearly respected her fans’ money and time. In turn, we respect her back.

Likewise, Lewis Capaldi was flooded with support from fans and famous faces – including Jessie J, Amanda Holden and Joe Wicks – when he cancelled his upcoming shows last year to protect his mental health. 

Chappell’s not the only one guilty of last minute cancellations though (Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

But if Chappell’s cancellation really is due to having bigger fish to fry on the world stage then that’s not cool.

It seems unlikely many devoted fans with tickets to this tour will get such a good opportunity to see her again, as she will no doubt be selling out stadiums soon – with tickets likely to rocket into the hundreds. As a result, her core fanbase runs the risk of being priced out of seeing her.

Chappell’s not the only one guilty of last minute cancellations though.

In April, The Jonas Brothers said they were postponing all their European concerts due to ‘exciting projects’ they had coming up, which were clearly, to me, far more important than their ticket-holding fans. 

In a tone-deaf video, they chirpily announced the postponement and added: ‘European fans, we love you, we 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.’

Clearly, they could wait. But could their fans? No thought seemed to have been given to those who had booked accommodation and travel for the gig, which was due to take place just a month later.

No biggie, I suppose, if you’re a Jonas Brother and reportedly have a combined estimated net worth of $150million. What’s a £50 hotel deposit lost to them?

For a lot of people, it’s a week’s food. Especially when people are choosing much more carefully where to spend their pennies these days.

The Jonas Brothers said they were postponing all their European concerts due to ‘exciting projects’ they had coming up (Picture: ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS/EPA)

The anger was clear among fans – who demanded refunds rather than attend the new postponed dates – many of whom weren’t able to get their money back as the shows weren’t flat-out cancelled.

And in 2022, Måneskin cancelled their Reading and Leeds festival appearance on August 26 to 28 due to ‘unforeseen scheduling conflicts’, saying they were ‘absolutely gutted’ to not be there – but they happily played at the MTV VMAs on 28 August instead. I sense a theme.

In October last year, Raye cancelled on the day of her Newport, Kentucky gig in order to perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. 

In all fairness to the PRADA hitmaker, she was honest about the reason when she explained it was a ‘huge opportunity’ for her that was ‘impossible to pass on’ but she was ‘truly truly truly sending you all of my apologies’. 

It’s an understandable decision for Raye in particular, as she’s famously an independent artist who has climbed the ranks without a label by her side. And she did give disappointed fans free tickets to her next show too – a two-hour drive away from Newport. 

When will artists understand that simply refunding a ticket won’t cut it when cancelling a gig? Let’s face it, it could definitely be avoided if they simply prioritised their first commitment.

They’re letting thousands of dedicated fans down for no good reason. That’s a surefire way to lose them. 

Metro has reached out to representatives of Chappel Roan for comment.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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