Kings of Leon have cancelled all of their June/July European shows after frontman Caleb Followill was injured in a “freak accident”.

The affected dates include headline slots at Germany’s Hessentag festival (16 June), Belgium’s Rock Werchter (5 July), Spain’s Mad Cool (10 July) and O Son do Camiño (13 July) and Portugal’s Nos Alive (12 July), while their 10 June concert in France at the Zénith Paris has been rescheduled for 3 September at the capital’s Adidas Arena.

It has already been confirmed that Kasabian will step in for the group at O Son do Camiño, with the other events currently working on finding replacements.

The WME-repped band’s UK shows at Blackweir Live in Cardiff (29 June) and Lytham Festival (2 July) have also been pulled, with the latter’s promoter Cuffe & Taylor cancelling the entire first day of the event as a result.

“Having explored all possibilities for a replacement act, it has not been possible at this late stage and therefore Lytham Festival 2025 will now run for four days from 3-6 July 2025,” reads a statement. “All five-day passes will now automatically become a four-day pass and the difference in price automatically refunded.”

“The anticipated recovery process is expected to take eight weeks”

A statement issued on behalf of the band reads: “Kings of Leon are updating fans that Caleb Followill has recently sustained a serious injury, shattering his heel and requiring a significant emergency surgery, that will prevent him from traveling and performing. The anticipated recovery process is expected to take eight weeks, under strict guidance of expert orthopedic specialists.

“The band regrets to report that they will need to cancel all upcoming UK and European festival headline shows in June and July of this year.”

The Tennessee rockers are due to return to Europe to headline the inaugural Come Together festival in Newcastle on 22 August and Portsmouth’s Victorious two days later. They are also slated to perform their only concert in Scandinavia of 2025 at Oslo’s Unity Arena on 27 August.

Followill, 43, elaborated on the nature of his injury in a social media post to fans.

“Unfortunately I regret to inform you that those shows will have to be cancelled due to a freak accident that happened the other day,” he said. “I broke my foot pretty bad playing with my kids. It’s pretty gnarly and I’ll spare all the details. But we’re fortunate enough to have some great doctors here in Nashville that gave me emergency surgery. I’m on the mend, but they told me that I can’t be on my feet, travelling, or anything for the next eight weeks or so.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Mushroom Group has announced that its youth festival Good Life will go on hiatus after 15 years due to “significant challenges” in the festival landscape.

Launched in 2010, the touring festival for 13 to 17-year-olds has hosted artists including Avicii, The Kid Laroi, Lil Uzi Vert, Marshmello, Skrillex, A$AP Rocky, Lil Tecca, Macklemore, Rudimental, Deadmau5 and Martin Garrix.

Organisers said the decision comes after “careful consideration of the escalating operational costs and the current regulatory landscape affecting music festivals”.

“The decision to pause Good Life this year was not made lightly,” says Good Life Presents event director Paul Barbaro. “The rising operational costs associated with event production and stringent festival regulations, particularly in states like New South Wales, have posed significant challenges.

“These factors have made it unfeasible to deliver the world-class line-up and experience our attendees have come to expect,” he continues. “Good Life is more than just a music festival—it’s a rite of passage for Australian teens. Our mission is to create an affordable, drug and alcohol-free event where young people can safely immerse themselves in live music and entertainment, creating a much-needed safe space for teens to connect offline. We’re optimistic about the future and are actively seeking government support, advocating for the reform of overbearing festival regulations.”

“Good Life is more than just a music festival—it’s a rite of passage for Australian teens”

Barbaro reassured audiences that “this isn’t goodbye” and added that the festival would return in 2026.

News of Good Life’s hiatus is the latest blow to Australia’s beleaguered 2025 festival season after Splendour in the Grass and Groovin The Moo were each cancelled for a second consecutive year.

At least three more Australian festivals including Hello Sunshine, Chapel Street and Souled Out, have been cancelled since the beginning of the year.

Last year, arts investment and advisory body Creative Australia released a report into the music festival sector that found more than one-third of Australian music festivals were losing money as the sector faced increased operational costs.

The report found that only 56% of music festivals in 2022–23 were profitable and that young audiences between 18 and 24 years old were no longer the sector’s primary market.

In March, a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s live music sector recommended a variety of ways to help the industry. These included tax offsets, a rebate or voucher scheme for 18-24-year-olds in line with programs in Germany, France and Spain, and the reduction or abolition of policing costs for festivals.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Shakira has been forced to postpone a stadium concert in Lima, Peru, after being hospitalised with an abdominal issue.

The Colombian superstar was due to perform two sold-out shows at Estadio Nacional in the Peruvian capital on 16-17 February as part of her  Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women Don’t Cry Anymore) 2025 world tour, produced by Live Nation, but called off last night’s opener.

Tonight’s second date is currently set to go ahead as planned.

“I am sorry to inform you all that [Saturday] night I had to go to the ER for an abdominal issue and am currently hospitalised,” the singer told her 91 million Instagram followers. “The doctors whose care I am currently under have communicated that I am not in good enough condition to perform [on Sunday] evening.

“My team and the promoters are already working on a new date to communicate”

“I am very sad to not be able to take the stage. I’ve been looking forward to reuniting with my incredible fans here in Peru. I hope to be released and well [on Monday] so I’m able to perform. My team and the promoters are already working on a new date to communicate to you.”

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran is the WME-represented singer’s first tour in seven years. Shakira sold out 18 stadium dates in jyst two hours for the run’s Latin American leg, selling more than 950,000 tickets.

This week, Shakira will return to her hometown of Barranquilla for the first time in 19 years with two performances at Estadio Metropolitano on 20-21 February. Additional sold out stops in her native Colombia are also booked for Medellin’s Atanasio Girardot Stadium (23 February) and Bogotá’s El Campín Stadium (26-27 February), prior to dates in Chile and Argentina.

She has also made history by becoming the first artist to have seven consecutive shows at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City. The Mexican residency is set for 21-30 March, kicking off the North American leg which reaches the US on 13 May at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, before making stops in Montreal, Toronto, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more before wrapping up on 30 June in San Francisco at Oracle Park.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

US rapper Macklemore has cancelled his upcoming concert in Dubai over the United Arab Emirates’ alleged role in the deadly conflict in Sudan.

The rapper (real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty) said people had for months been asking him to call off the concert at Coca-Cola Arena on 4 October in solidarity with the Sudanese people “and to boycott doing business in the UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis in the region”.

The rapper cited the UAE’s reported support for the Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been battling the Sudanese army.

“I know that this will probably jeopardise my future shows in the area, and I truly hate letting any of my fans down. I was really excited too. But until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not perform there.”

He added: “I have no judgment against other artists performing in the UAE. But I do ask the question to my peers scheduled to play in Dubai: If we used our platforms to mobilise collective liberation, what could we accomplish?”

“If we used our platforms to mobilize collective liberation, what could we accomplish?”

Since the war began in April last year, thousands of people have been killed and 10 million forced to flee their homes. The war has sparked the country’s worst hunger levels on record, external, according to the UN-accredited Integrated food security Phase Classification (IPC).

Macklemore is the latest artist to cancel a performance for reasons related to an ongoing war. Earlier this month, Fontaines D.C. cancelled their upcoming concert at Zorlu PSM in Turkey in solidarity with Palestinian people.

That came after Barclays suspended its sponsorship of Live Nation UK’s remaining 2024 festivals following a raft of artist withdrawals over the bank’s ties to Israel, and South By Southwest (SXSW) discontinued its partnership with the US Army and the defense contractor RTX Corporation after more than 80 artists pulled out of this year’s event in Austin, Texas, in protest of the military’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, other artists such as Imagine Dragons have been forced to defend performances in countries involved in conflicts, while a slate of artists and DJs have quietly returned to playing gigs in Russia despite the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Read more about how the live music industry is grappling with artist boycotts here.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by BEN (@macklemore)

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

TAKK Entertainment’s Andre Béchir has spoken out after P!nk cancelled her Switzerland concert at short notice over health concerns.

The US superstar was due to perform at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium last night (3 July), promoted by TAKK, as part of the European leg of her record-setting Summer Carnival Tour, but announced the day before that she would no longer be able to perform.

“I am so sorry that I have had to cancel my show in Bern,” she said on Instagram. “I do everything I can to ensure I can perform for you every night, but after consultation with my doctor and exploring all options available, I’ve been advised that I’m unable to continue with the show tomorrow.

“I was looking forward to being with you and making memories with you and sharing our show with you and am so disappointed that we have to cancel.”

The concert will not be rescheduled, with all tickets to be refunded. And due to the lateness of the cancellation, Béchir indicates the amount not covered by insurance is in the six-figure range.

“We have insurance for such cases, but it certainly won’t cover all the costs,” Béchir tells Berner Zeitung. “We will now renegotiate with all partners. But we will be left with a very red number.

“If she can, she will perform. But her health comes first”

“If the concert had been cancelled a few days earlier, it would have been much cheaper.”

Nevertheless, the veteran promoter acknowledges that P!nk would not have cancelled without good reason. “If she can, she will perform. But her health comes first,” he notes, as per Nau.

Béchir leads CTS Eventim-backed TAKK ab Entertainment AG, which was established last year, alongside TAKK Productions founder Sebastien Vuignier and IQ New Bosses alumnus Théo Quiblier. Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS shortly before the pandemic hit.

P!nk’s cancellation marked the second time in three years that a TAKK-promoted gig at the Bern stadium has been axed at the 11th hour. The Rolling Stones were forced to pull out of their June 2022 show at the venue after Mick Jagger tested positive for Covid-19. But Béchir insists there are no hard feelings towards the city.

“We are still on very good terms with Bern,” he adds. “Especially with the authorities, such as security director Reto Nause and those responsible at the Wankdorf Stadium. Everyone involved was very understanding about the cancellation. We have a very cooperative relationship.”

The Summer Carnival Tour is due to resume in Denmark this Saturday at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Nicki Minaj’s concert at Manchester’s Co-op Live was called off at the last minute, following her arrest at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The American rapper was arrested on suspicion of exporting soft drugs before being fined €350 and allowed to continue her journey, Dutch authorities said.

The artist didn’t make it to Manchester in time for her concert on Saturday (25 May), which was postponed just after 21:30 BST, with 20,000 fans in the arena waiting for her to take the stage.

On social media, Minaj said she was in a jail cell for between five and six hours, and finally arrived at her hotel in Manchester around midnight.

In a statement, promoters Live Nation said: “Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday 25 May has been postponed.

“Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced as soon as possible.

“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

Co-op Live posted the same statement.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me today. May God cover you & all that is connected to you. May you be blessed beyond your imagination.

Barbz, I’m @ the stock exchange hotel in #Manchester I arrived a little over an hour ago.
After sitting in a jail cell for 5-6 hours, my…

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) May 26, 2024

Minaj continued her tour in Birmingham last night (26 May) and is due to visit London and Glasgow, before a second scheduled date in Manchester on Thursday.

It is the latest problem to hit the 23,500-cap Co-op Live, which has also been forced to postpone or move gigs by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Take That and Peter Kay in recent weeks after suffering a string of delays and technical problems.

The Oak View Group (OVG)-operated arena finally opened on 14 May for an opening performance by Manchester’s Elbow.

Co-op Live’s interim general manager, Rebecca Kane Burton, recently told OVG-owned publication VenuesNow that the venue is “all up and running and fully furnished”.

“We’ve had a natural ramp-up in terms of the capacities we’ve been hosting. Peter Kay was our biggest event (May 23-24). We had between 14,000 and 15,000 people – all of the levels in full use. All suites and premium areas have been working at full-tilt. There’s still work happening within the building, but it tends to be offices and back-of-house areas.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

The live business is a well-oiled machine, but sometimes unexpected events and legal matters can impact and profoundly shape the sector. Below are some of the major developments over the past year as featured in IQ‘s newest publication, the Touring Business Handbook, and what they could mean for the future of the business.

Shows starting late
What happened: Some acts made unpredictability their calling card and would start shows incredibly late and, because they ended incredibly late, they would break curfews and invariably get fined. Now consumers are starting to take things into their own hands. Two US fans filed a class action against Madonna for allegedly starting her three shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in December 2023 late, claiming a breach of contract with the audience who “had to get up early to go to work” the following day. The original suit also named the venue as a defendant.

What it means: Madonna and Live Nation responded and denied this was the case, insisting that due to a “technical issue 13 December during soundcheck” this was the only show affected. “We intend to defend this case vigorously,” they said. The case could quietly disappear or, if it reaches court and the claimants are successful, it could have profound implications for all other late-running shows by setting a major legal precedent. The concern is that fans could become ever-more litigious around different parts of the live experience.

“There is a clear move by both the public and legislators to put better safeguards in place around resales”

Ticket resale, scalping & bots
What happened: A number of major developments in major markets in 2023 are still unfolding in 2024. Six US senators introduced the Fans First Act in late 2023 aimed at delivering greater transparency for consumers around re-sales and greater accountability for bad actors in the space. This came after Taylor Swift fans in the US attempted to sue Ticketmaster for alleged “price fixing” around pre-sale tickets for Swift’s Eras tour.

Swift tickets were also a legal focus in Australia where in June 2023 the government in Victoria designated her shows at Melbourne Cricket Ground as a “major event” and therefore heavily restricted under Victoria’s anti-scalping laws. This snowballed into calls for tougher and unified national laws in Australia to clamp down on re-sales at inflated pricing and scalping.

In late 2023, FEAT (Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing) was looking to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to clamp down on illegal ticket resales following the DSA introducing new measures from August that require large search engines to clamp down on illegal product listing. In Texas, following chaos as Taylor Swift tickets went on sale, state senators proposed new laws that would clamp down on ticket-purchasing bots and this was signed into law in May 2023.

What it means: There is a clear move by both the public and legislators in different markets to put better safeguards in place as well as tougher measures in action around re-sales. For now, no change in national legislation has been pushed through in the US or Australia, but this could only be a matter of time unless the ticketing sector moves to better and more robustly self-regulate here. The developments in the EU could have much wider repercussions with regard to takedown notifications for secondary ticketing sites.

“Artists need to be incredibly aware that mass lawsuits could prove controversial and damage their public image”

Touring crew treatment & allegations of harassment
What happened: In September 2023, clothing designer Asha Daniels accused Lizzo and members of her team of creating an “unsafe, sexually charged workplace culture” for members of her touring production. A spokesperson for Lizzo called the harassment suit filed by Daniels “a bogus, absurd publicity stunt” and in December, Lizzo’s legal representatives moved to have the lawsuit dismissed.

What it means: It is impossible to speculate at this stage if the case will make it to court and, if so, which way the judgement would fall. Regardless of the merits (or not) of the suit, it raises important issues about safeguarding and welfare for contracted workers on tour.

Counterfeit merchandise
What happened: The perennial issue of counterfeit merchandise was brought into sharp relief in 2023 when lawyers acting for Luke Combs targeted multiple individuals for selling unauthorised merchandise. Nicol Harness was among those targeted for having sold 18 tumblers (featuring Combs’s name and face) she had made herself. Combs found out about the $250,000 suit against Harness (who is disabled), and said it “makes me sick,” insisting her name was dropped from the suit against rogue operators and he also sent her $11,000 by way of apology.

What it means: The issue of fake merchandise has long been an issue for musicians, beginning with people selling counterfeit and unlicensed goods on the street outside shows and then the process becoming industrialised on online sites such as eBay, Etsy, Redbubble and more.

This has echoes of the first waves of legal action against filesharers in the early 2000s and the PR backlash when individuals were being targeted. Artists need to protect their merchandise business but will also be incredibly aware that mass lawsuits could prove controversial and damage their public image.

“The issue of free speech and if/how it crosses the line into hate speech is a complex and contested area”

Hate speech, censorship & show cancellations
What happened: Three very different cases but they collectively raise complex debates about artists holding/ expressing certain views and engaging in certain behaviour and how that runs into calls for censorship of cancellation.

In early 2023, Roger Waters said he would take legal action against city authorities in Germany who threatened to cancel several of his shows in Germany, accusing Waters of antisemitism (a charge he denies). Waters subsequently won his battle to stage his shows in Frankfurt in May 2023.

In summer 2023, authorities in the Mexican state of Chihuahua banned acts from performing songs live that contain what are deemed to be misogynistic lyrics. Those who do could face fines of 1.2m pesos (circa £54,661).

Finally, in summer 2023, Matt Healy of The 1975 caused a political storm at the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur when he kissed bass player Ross MacDonald on stage. After just seven songs, the band were ordered to end their performance and the rest of the three-day festival was pulled after an “immediate cancellation directive.” The band pulled their upcoming shows in Indonesia and Taiwan while Malaysian authorities banned them from performing in the country.

What it means: The political views as well as the lyrical output of musicians are under growing scrutiny. The issue of free speech and if/how it crosses the line into hate speech is a complex and contested area. The issue of actions on stage like that of Healy are clearly specific to the moral and political views of certain countries, but this is something all musicians need to be aware
of.

These are extreme examples but they raise difficult questions about how far artistic expression can go and if censorship is the best response or if it is the thin end of the wedge that could see even greater restrictions placed on what musicians can say.

More information about recent developments with tax, legal, insurance, currency, and immigration is available to subscribers in IQ’s Touring Business Handbook, found here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

A New Year’s Eve concert in Mexico was cancelled after three grenades were thrown outside the venue.

The show by Los Angeles-born, Sinaloa-raised narcocorrido (drug ballad) singer Larry Hernández had been due to take place at the Casa Blanca nightclub in eastern Tijuana.

“Unfortunately because of the events that just happened at the place where I was going to perform, it is impossible to do so,” says Hernández in a social media video. “These are things that are out of one’s control, so I apologise and send you a hug.”

GazetteXtra reports that people threw what appeared to be fragmentation grenades, which did not detonate, from a vehicle on Sunday (31 December).

According to Tijuana’s secretary of security and citizen protection Fernando Sánchez, the Mexican army arrived on site to remove the devices.

Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Ávila says the case is being investigated, but no evidence had been found of a direct threat either to Hernández or the concert venue. No arrests have yet been made.

Mexican singer-songwriter Peso Pluma also cancelled a concert in Tijuana last year following death threats

Hernández’s breakthrough album, 2009’s 16 Narco Corridos featured “vivid depictions” of drug trafficking culture and reached No.4 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.

Mexican singer-songwriter Peso Pluma, who is similarly known for making narcoculture references in his music, also cancelled a concert in Tijuana last year following death threats from local drug cartel members. The October 2023 performance was set for the 33,333-capacity Estadio Caliente stadium.

The cancellation came after several public banners from alleged cartel members targeted the 24-year-old Guadalajara native. The band Fuerza Regida cancelled a show at the same stadium “for reasons beyond our reach” due to death threats.

“I would say there’s a situation between the criminal groups and the narcocorrido singers,” Tijuana mayor Montserrat Caballero told 12News.

Last November, the Guardian reported that local politicians in the city voted to ban narcocorridos from being performed or even played in the city, claiming they glorify violence and the drug trade. However, attempts to censor the genre have appeared to only enhance its popularity.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Plans for Rolling Loud to return to Australia next year for the first time since 2019 have been cancelled.

The hip-hop festival franchise had been due to land at Sydney’s Giants Stadium and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on 26 & 27 January 2024, respectively, but promoters say the event will no longer take place, citing “circumstances beyond our control”.

“We appreciate the love from all of our fans who are looking forward to Rolling Loud’s return to Australia,” says a statement. “We were hyped to bring the full Rolling Loud experience to our Aussie fans. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond our control, we’re unable to give you a show that lives up to the Rolling Loud standard, so we are left with no choice but to postpone the festival to a later date.

“To those of you who have already bought tickets, we appreciate you. All ticket holders will receive an automatic, full refund.”

Organisers insist a number of yet-to-be-announced side shows set to be held around the festival will still go ahead as planned.

“Rolling Loud will still be hosting a variety of smaller arena shows in early 2024”

“Australian fans, we still got you: Rolling Loud will still be hosting a variety of smaller arena shows in early 2024,” adds the statement.

The Miami-hailing festival has also run events in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Toronto, Rotterdam, Munich and the Algarve, and will launch in Thailand next year.

News of its Australian cancellation comes in the same week that The Weeknd postponed his upcoming Australia & New Zealand stadium tour, citing “unforeseen circumstances”.

The Canadian singer was set to perform 11 dates in the region from 20 November to 9 December this year, spread across Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Sydney’s Accor Stadium, Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium and Eden Park in Auckland.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Christine and the Queens, also known as Redcar, has cancelled all remaining tour dates for 2023 due to illness.

“Red was taken ill today [16 October] and on advice of doctors forced to make the difficult decision to cancel all remaining tour dates for 2023,” reads a post on Christine and the Queens’ official Instagram account. “It’s not yet known what illness forced the cancellation.”

The French singer was scheduled to perform seven more shows in North America before wrapping the leg on 26 October.

“It’s not yet known what illness forced the cancellation”

Following that, Christine and the Queens was slated to perform a string of shows throughout Europe, including in Belgium and the Netherlands, with a final date scheduled for Paris’ L’Olympia on 27 November.

According to the singer’s statement, full refunds for all dates of the cancelled tour are available at the point of purchase.

The tour was in support of the French singer-songwriter’s most recent album ‘PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE’, which arrived in June of this year and featured the likes of Madonna, 070 Shake and Mike Dean.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.