Uh oh. Looks like there’s a bit of trouble in touring paradise for Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, who has very, very quietly canceled/postponed most, if not all, of his first solo tour.
Charles, who was just nominated for his first non-Lady-Antebellum-related Grammy yesterday, announced the club tour back in October shortly after releasing his debut single, The Driver, from his upcoming debut solo album. All of this was supposed to take place while Lady Antebellum was on a temporary break
“It’s gonna be fun to watch the fans hear a song they haven’t heard before, because the project won’t come out until early next year. So I go out there almost like we did with Lady Antebellum, with just one single on the radio, and have to prove myself. I miss that,” he told Rolling Stone Country about his desire to head out to the smaller venues solo.
There were originally 22 club dates scheduled, but now Charles’ website tour page lists just one upcoming tour date on Wednesday, December 7, in Charleston, South Carolina, which makes no sense at all considering December 7 was yesterday and was a Monday. Saving Country Music, however, notes that Charles did play in South Carolina yesterday with Darius Rucker and Craig Campbell as part of a charity show, so apparently it’s just a typo. All other dates, however, are now gone and there’s just a notice stating that tour dates are moving to early 2016.
The weird thing about all of this is that there has been no official announcement to let fans know that the tour plans have changed.
One or two dates is understandable, but not letting fans know that an entire tour has been postponed? Odd.
Of course, I suppose fans probably should have realized there was trouble brewing when Charles canceled his very first show on November 28 in Cleveland without warning or explanation.
Cleveland.com announced the news on the 27th.
Charles Kelley’s first show as a solo act, originally set for Saturday night at Cleveland’s House of Blues, has been postponed.
A spokeswoman for the Lady Antebellum singer declined to give a specific reason for the postponement, but said that the show will be rescheduled for early 2016.
Unfortunately, the lack of explanation is causing some fans to get angry. And it’s pretty understandable why. Take this, for example.
On December 5, the singer was scheduled to perform in Atlanta, Georgia at The Tabernacle Atlanta. That show was canceled, but do you know where Charles was that day? In Atlanta where he played a private show for local station 94.9 The Bull.
Um, yeah.
I’m sure you can imagine the comments from disappointed fans on this Facebook post he shared that same day.
can’t wait for y’all to hear the rest of the upcoming album #thedriver. got to test out some new stuff at @949TheBull #MusicLounge
Posted by Charles Kelley on Saturday, December 5, 2015
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that crap happens on these tours. Plans change, not enough tickets get sold, buses catch fire on the side of the freeway, touring doesn’t make smart business sense, whatever. Here’s the thing, though, people spent their hard-earned money on tickets to these shows and in this day and age of stars sharing every mundane piece of their daily lives on social media, leaving those same fans in the dark about something as big as an entire tour being postponed just kind of makes you look like an out-of-touch celebrity. I mean, come on, at least say sorry to disappoint or something. Anything.
But that’s just me.
Interestingly, Charles’ show on Thursday, December 10, in Kansas City, Missouri at the Uptown Theatre is still listed on the venue’s calendar and tickets are still being sold. Not sure I’d trust it enough to waste my money though.
(via Saving Country Music)
