Roxette are seemingly the latest band to fall victim to increasing touring costs, and have told fans that Live Nation has cancelled their scheduled North American tour as a result.
The Swedish pop-rockers’ 40th anniversary tour had all of its US and Canada dates axed late last month (July 25), with ticketholders receiving notices that their money was being refunded for the shows.
The shows had been booked into venues across North America, with the band headlining a triple bill that also included fellow ’80s favorites Nick Lowe and Taylor Dayne. A statement on Roxette’s social media read: “Due to logistics and hugely increased touring costs, Live Nation US has decided to postpone the Northamerican [sic] tour. Hope to see you some other time down the road.”
Founder and co-frontman Per Gessle later shed more light on what had led to the dates being cancelled, telling fans the decision was strictly Live Nation’s. “Lena [Philipsson, the new vocalist], I and the band are of course disappointed. We were really looking forward to this northamerican tour and US is by far our biggest streaming market.
“This decision was made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations. I hope we can play for our fab fans in the USA and Canada at some point in the near future.”
The North American trek was to have begun September 10 at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, before wrapping on October 9 at White River Amphitheatre in Washington.
NME has reached out to Live Nation for comment.
Roxette’s exit from the tour follows a series of much discussed cancellations and postponements from contemporary and legacy acts. Dubbed “blue dot fever”, the phrase refers to the sea of unsold tickets visible on seating charts for poorly-selling concerts.
Other artists who’ve cancelled either entire tours or significant chunks of their dates this year include David Lee Roth, Lily Allen, Zayn Malik, as well as Post Malone and Jelly Roll’s joint stadium tour.