I’ve been in the radio industry since 1996. I’ve seen my fair share of concerts cancelled. Here are the real reasons behind the cancellations:

Reason:
“Due to a scheduling conflict…”

Actual Reason:
“Ticket sales are slow.”

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Reason:
“Due to Laryngitis…” (or even more telling: “illness”)

Actual Reason:
“Ticket sales are slow.”

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Reason:
“Due to a miscommunication…”

Actual Reason:
Usually means that there was an argument between the venue and the tour manager. - i.e., the venue won’t pick the blue marshmallows out of the singer’s Lucky Charms.

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Reason:
“Due to weather…”

Actual Reason:
This one’s usually correct. The band is getting paid either way. Yeah, it sucks, but that’s what insurance is for.

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Reason:
“Due to security issues…”

Actual Reason:
This usually happens at rap concerts where the venue hasn’t secured ample security for the crowd that the local police department expects. It also shows up when death threats are made against the artist. (sometimes that one is actually written as, “cancelled due to death threat.”)

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Reason:
“Due to lackluster sales…”

Actual Reason:
Holy shit… they actually told the truth. It’s about the money, not the fans.

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For the record, the Brooks & Dunn concert that was scheduled for Friday, May 30th at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee has been cancelled “due to a scheduling conflict.” Trust me… these guys’ schedules are well accounted for, and they would have known that something else was going on before booking a gig at an amphitheater. George Strait cancelled a show at the Bradley Center due to “laryngitis” a few years ago. This was right after his promotion company called me 20 times the week before the show to convince me to get more people to buy tickets to the show. It’s a business… it’s a game… and the only people who get the shaft are the fans.

Refunds are available. However, Ticketmaster doesn’t refund per-ticket fees - only the face value of the ticket. What a racket.

Brooks and Dunn played this song last night on the CMA Awards. I have to say, it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

Here are the lyrics:

Brooks & Dunn: God Must Be Busy

That anchor man
Says the fight began
Somewhere in the Middle East.
The world prays for peace.
There’s a single mom
Just got laid off when she lost a job
To some foreign hands
In some faraway land.
Last night in Oklahoma
Some twister took thirteen
And they’re praying that they find
The missing three.
God must be busy.

That highway sign
Went from slow ahead
To traffic’s dead.
Thought it couldn’t get worse
Than that Amber Alert.
They say she’s 4,
Colorado plates, headed out-of-state
In a Chevy van.
It’s hard to understand.
You can see it in the faces
Of all those highway strangers,
They’re praying that God
Keeps that girl from danger.
God must be busy.

And I know in the big picture
I’m just a speck of sand
And God’s got better things to do
Than look out for one man.
I know he’s heard my prayers
Cause he hears everything,
He just ain’t answered back
Or he’d bring you back to me.
God must be busy.

That evening news,
Ain’t much changed
Pretty much the same
Since I left home.
Yeah that war’s still on.
They found that little girl.
She was soaking wet,
Half scared to death
On the side of some road.
Them prayers work, you know.
And the Bloods and Crips are at it,
And theres a killer drought down south,
And old folks can’t afford the drugs
They can’t live with out.
God must be busy.

And I know in the big picture
I’m just a speck of sand
And God’s got better things to do
Than look out for one man.
I know he’s heard my prayers
Cause he hears everything,
He just ain’t answered back
Or he’d bring you back to me.
God must be busy.

That anchorman,
Says the fighting’s worse,
Cities burn in the Middle East.
The world prays for peace