Tag: coronavirus

Evanescence & Within Temptation Postpone UK Tour To 2022

Originally due to take place in 2020, Evanescence and Within Temptation​’s Worlds Collide tour has once again been postponed.

Pushed back to 2022, the two bands co-headlining run of the EU and the UK will now be touring March and April 2022, with Evanescence stating, 

​“Well guys, we have to push this back one more time. We hate to make you wait longer but we are absolutely determined to make this tour we’ve all been looking forward to happening, so check out the new dates. We will be counting the days till we finally get to celebrate all this new music together. 

“In the meantime, stay safe, stay sane, and keep your headbanging to The Bitter Truth! You will have no excuse not to know every word by next spring! We love you!”

Within Temptation add: ​“This is definitely not what we’ve wished for, but reality tells us otherwise: we have to postpone the Worlds Collide tour. Although we can’t make the current situation better than it is, we hope to put a big smile on your faces again soon, because… We haven’t been sitting still and we have a lot of cool stuff coming up for you! Until then, stay safe. And you know what? Third time’s a charm, so see you in March or April 2022!”

Here are the dates.

April 2022

1st –  Germany, Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena
4th – First Direct Arena, Leeds
5th – The O2, London
7th – The SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow
8th – Birmingham Arena, Birmingham

EU Festivals Speak On Their Return As Dutch Government Set Date & Allow Trials

European festivals have spoken about their hopes of returning this summer, with the Dutch government setting up trial events next month and stating that festivals should be possible from July.

Following the recent cancellation of Glastonbury in the UK due to complications from the coronavirus pandemic, anticipation now surrounds how the rest of the festival season with Download Festival as well as Reading & Leeds Festival as to how they will play out. In the UK, festival organisers are calling on the government to provide a restart date for preparation, as well as insurance to help them survive if they have to cancel again.

Now, it seems that this has been granted for the music industry in the Netherlands.

“Great news: the Dutch government has announced that they aim to allow festivals after July 1,” a new statement reads on the website for Netherlands’ dance event Liquicity. “In case festivals still get canceled due to changing COVID circumstances, organisers are likely to be compensated for the costs. Festivals in The Netherlands are currently selling out in record pace due to this new government announcement.”

Liquicity, set to take place from July 16-18, also promised that festival-goers can request a full refund until May 16, that they’ll get their full money back if it gets cancelled or if they’re unable to get there due to travel bans, and that a ticket swap service had been set up for fans who still didn’t feel comfortable attending closer to the event.

Meanwhile, it has also been announced that two trial festivals on Netherlands festival Lowlands to test if they can be run safely and free of coronavirus. As We Rave You reports, 3000 participants at the events will have to present the negative result of a COVID-19 test, with their temperatures measured on entry and some being randomly selected for a “thick” test.

Attendees will also be given a lanyard that records moments of contact with others. Lowlands director Eric van Eerdenburg told a press conference that the measures they had in place would allow them to be prepared “in the event of a subsequent outbreak” at events later this summer.

“As a sector, we have to think five or six months ahead to organise a major event,” he said. “The government often looks at a situation in a few months from now.”

Primavera Sound festival’s recent trial for the return of gigs with no social distancing but same-day antigen testing found no infection rate, while a study in Germany last year found a “low to very low risk” or coronavirus spreading at indoor gigs – concluding that “good ventilation and social distancing are key”. This month will see a similar experiment take place in Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, trials have been announced to test “health passports” at small indoor gigs in the UK as a route to “reopening live music safely”.

Maynard James Keenan Contracted Covid-19 For A Second Time

Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has announced he contracted Covid-19 for a second time in 2020, ending up in the emergency room as he couldn’t breathe.

The musician first caught the virus in February 2020, says the last effects he was feeling and explaining that he took “some major medications” to try and beat it. ​“Still coughing,” he said in October. ​“There’s still lung damage.” 

The frontman then contracted it again in mid-November 2020 and even ​“ended up in the ER on December 1”.

Speaking to STROMBO on Apple Music Hits, he says, ​“Ugly, ugly. Couldn’t breathe. I could barely put two words together without going into a coughing fit that, you know? It ended up kind of also progressing into pneumonia. So, if I stayed in the hospital, they said, ​‘Okay, we can keep you here, but you’re fighting 12 other people for a bed and a ventilator we don’t have, so what do you want to do?’ I’m like, ​‘Well, I need to breathe and I need to sleep.’ So, you’re just treating symptoms at that point. There’s nothing you can do other than treat the symptom, so for a real cough medicine, not the crap over-the-counter and then like an inhaler, and some antibiotics to fight the pneumonia and strap the fuck in…”

London Venue The Black Heart Launch Crowdfunder For Survival

London venue The Black Heart, based in Camden, London has launched a crowdfunder after releasing a statement, which you can read in full below. The venue explains that they need help in raising £100,000 or they’ll face the possibility of being unable to re-open. They also state that they’ve had zero help from the government or their landlords to financially stay afloat.

Those who donate will also be in with a chance of winning a prize, as each donation will result as an entry into a raffle.

“FRIENDS, THE BLACK HEART IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

We’ve spent a year adapting our bar and venue to meet government guidelines due to this awful pandemic, but we can go no further on our own.

We need to raise £100,000 by the end of March 2021, or we face the very real prospect of never reopening.

We are independently owned and operated and are proud to have retained all our staff, because we’re a family. We are now reaching out to the extended Black Heart family for support as we launch our #savetheblackheart Crowdfunder.

WE HAVE HAD ZERO HELP FROM THE GOVERNMENT OR OUR LANDLORDS.

By supporting our Crowdfunder you’ll have the opportunity to win something. Simply donate toward the prize you’re keen to win and you will be entered into that raffle.

Every week we will release a new round of prizes and we’ve priced it to cover all budgets.
Week 1 kicks off with prizes from Orange Amplifiers, Ritual Productions, Rise Above Records, BEER + BURGER, Drink Moor Beer and We Are Beer Craft Beer Festival.

The Black Heart is an integral part of the UK underground heavy music scene and international touring circuit. The list of incredible bands that have played in our venue is endless.

THE FUTURE IS LOUD AND HEAVY BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP

Can you imagine a heavy music community without The Black Heart?

Yeah, neither can we.

We love you, we miss you, and we cannot wait to reopen and see you all again soon.”

Those that are looking to donate to the crowdfunder can at crowdfunder.co.uk/savetheblackheart.

Could Festivals And Big Shows Return After Easter In The UK?

Could Gigs and Festivals return after Easter in the UK? The signs are on the up after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said life could return back to normal by April. The comments came as he spoke on a Covid-19 vaccination program that could start as early as next month, following the development and successful trailers of vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford University.

“The bulk of the vaccine rollout programme will be in January, February, March, and we hope that some time after Easter things will be able to start to get back to normal,” he told BBC Breakfast.

The goverment have ordered 100 million doeses of the Oxford vaccine subjec to being approved for public use, as well as 40 million of the Pfizer jab.

In terms of what this means for shows and touring, it’s a massive game changer for a lot of large shows such as Guns N’ Roses and Green Day as well as a lot of festivals returning just in time for the season next summer.

London, UK Venue The Crobar Launch Crowdfunder To Stay Open

It’s no secret that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has had a disastrous effect on the music venues throughout the world.

The London Venue has now launched a crowdfuner scheme in an effort to re-open after recently announced their closure.

The venue announced its closure on September 20th 2020 due to being unable to trade for several months as a result of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

On the closure and crowdfunding campaign, owner Richard Thomas has said:

“Back in June, when I realised there was no way we would survive, I was heartbroken. As well as the obvious loss of all our jobs, I was hit hard by the thought that there are Crobar friends that I’ve seen on a regular basis for donkeys years, that I would never see again. This made me very sad. I also realised from texts and Facebook comments that most of our customers felt the same way.

At that time it felt like the end of the world, but one night soon after, I was reading my daughter a bedtime story, and half way through the book, the pirates ship sunk. “Oh no” I said, “How will the pirates get the treasure now?

My daughter shrugged and said, “They’re pirates Daddy, they’ll just get another ship.”

I am now happy to announce that The Crobar has decided to crowdfund with the aim of raising the money needed to reopen the bar at another location. When life gives you a kicking, kick it back! The aim is not just to reopen the bar, but hopefully to open a live music venue too. With so many venues closing, London will need new ones or its incredible music heritage will die. As a lifelong music fan, I can’t sit back and let that happen.”

The Crobar‘s crowdfunding campaign is live now, with a prize draw that includes pewter belt buckles, Zippo lighters and Richard‘s very last bottle of Crobar whiskey (number 666).

Corey Taylor’s Guitar Auction Raised $150,000 For Covid-19 Relief

Following on from last months auction for COVID-19 Relief, Corey Taylor raised  $150,000.

The heavy-hitting musician auctioned off thirteen of his guitars, which included a couple super-limited Dave Grohl signatures with eBay For Charity to raise the money for Direct Relief in the fight coronavirus.

The auction went on for two weeks, with Taylor raising $75,000 and eBay matching the bid.

It’s an absolutely massive achievement that this has made in these times and if Corey Taylor, if you come across this by some weird coincidence, you’re an absolute treasure to the Rock community and thank you for raising the money for Direct Relief.

Slam Dunk 2020 Festival Has Been Cancelled

It was inevitable nevertheless but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers of Slam Dunk Festival have regrettably announced they have been forced to cancel the 2020 edition of the festival.

Despite plans to reschedule and postpone to September 2020, they were forced to cancel until next year.

The festival’s director, Ben Ray confirmed the news via their social media with a statement, explaining the decision.

The festival is allowing ticket holders the choice of a refund or to hold onto their ticket which will be valid for 2021.

In addition, they’ve also planned they will plan to make as much of this year’s line-up available for next year as possible.

The full statement can be read below.

 

“It is with a very heavy heart I have to inform you that Slam Dunk Festival 2020 is postponed to 2021. We hung on to hope for as long as we could but with so many factors against us, we have had to accept the fact that it can’t go ahead. We had worked so hard to move it from May to September and with that we thought we had saved it for you, but sadly the outlook is not any better. We had been waiting for clear guidance on the matter and although this is still yet to come, we see no way that things will back to normal enough by September.

Tickets for Slam Dunk Festival 2020, will of course remain valid for Slam Dunk 2021, so please if you can, hold on to them. If not, please contact your ticket provider as your money has always remained safely with them, and they will refund you. There will be a slight rise in ticket prices for 2021 due to increased costs of putting the event on so it will be worth holding on to them. Refunds will be available until the end of September and also tickets will remain on sale at their current price as an early bird ticket until then.

The new dates are:

Slam Dunk North: Saturday 29th May 2021: Leeds Temple Newsam
Slam Dunk South: Sunday 30th May 2021: Hatfield Park

We are currently working on the lineup, and should be able to reveal this quite quickly, as most bands due to play this year are able to come back for you in 2021.

Slam Dunk is an independent festival run by a small and committed team, all of whom hugely appreciate your patience and support on this. We will be announcing shortly some details of some merch and possibly other events to support us until we see you again in 2021,

Many thanks,

Ben Ray
Director, Slam Dunk Festival”

Leeds & Reading 2020 Has Been Cancelled

It’s been announced that the 2020 iteration of Leeds & Reading Festival has been cancelled.

The festival was scheduled to go ahead on August 28th – 30th this year and was set to be headlined by Rage Against The Machine, Liam Gallagher and Stormzy.

Refunds will be available or you can your ticket for the 2021 festival.

A full statement from the festival can be read below.

“Reading and Leeds will no longer be taking place this year. We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and we were hopeful we could deliver the ultimate festival to you in August, something to look forward to in these strange and confusing times. However, it has become clear that it’s just not possible for this year’s festival to go ahead.

We want to extend our gratitude to our teams, artists and partners who work so hard each year. And to our fans, we’re nothing without you – we thank you for your continued support and understanding.

We are working closely with our ticketing partners and they will be in touch very soon to process your refund, or, if you prefer, you can retain your ticket and carry it over to next year. Look out for an e-mail from your ticketing agent and please only contact them if you have not been contacted after 7 days as they are very busy at this time. If you purchased your ticket from a physical outlet, please contact that outlet to obtain your refund.

We’re already counting down the days to when we’re back in the fields we call home for the August Bank holiday weekend. We promise you that Reading and Leeds 2021 will be worth the wait.

Finally, we encourage everyone to continue supporting our emergency services, who provide invaluable support and assistance at all our events and we again express our gratitude, admiration and thanks for their dedication and professionalism which is proving so vital at this time.

Keep safe, keep healthy and look after each other.”

readingleeds_statement

Campaign Launches For Artists To Recieve More From Streaming During Lockdown

Two leading organisations from the UK music industry are calling for artists to receive a greater cut from Spotify and streaming  royalties in the midst of the coronvirus pandemic.

The Keep Music Alive campaign has been organised by the Musicians’ Union and The Ivors Academy whom are both calling for artists to receive a greater percentage of royalties after the widespread cancellation of gigs and festivals has caused a massive void in the incomes of musicians.

The Guardian reports that the campaign aims to highlight their predicament to politicians, streaming platforms and record companies across the UK.

In a launch statement, they explain:

“This crisis has brought into sharp relief the fact that creators and performers are sustained primarily by the live side of the music business and that streaming royalties are woefully insufficient.”

Currently, it’s estimated that Spotify plays an average of £0.0028 per stream to “rights holders”.

Similarly, a campaign called Broken Record which was organised by Gomez’ Tom Gray. Gray is a director of the Performing Rights Society, an organisation that oversees payment received by musicians from radio stations and music played in public places.

On May 24th 2020, Gray is going to host a series of listening parties to raise money.

Tech Fest 2020 Has Been Cancelled

The list is ongoing in terms of the cancellations for festivals and shows due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest addition is UK’s Tech-Fest.

The organisers broke the news last week where they’ve explained tickets already purchased for this year’s event will remain valid for the 2021 edition of the festival.

They have also stated they will plan to keep intact as much of this year’s lineup for next year as well but the acts are TBC.

You can read the full statement below.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we announce that UK Tech-Fest will have to be postponed.

This was the statement we never wanted to release and it was by no means an easy decision to come to, but to aid in the safety of the public and in times of such uncertainty, it is no longer viable to put on Tech-Fest this year.

The new dates are Thursday 1st – Monday 5th July 2021.

We’re really sorry to everyone who was planning on attending Tech-Fest, we know how important this festival is to so many people. We are absolutely gutted to not be able to deliver this year, but the good news is the majority of this year’s bands are already confirmed for next year.

To all existing ticket holders, your tickets will be valid for 2021 and we ask that, if you can, you please support us by rolling over your ticket. However, we understand this is a difficult time and if you’re unable to join us next year or need a refund you will able to get one for the face value of your ticket. All ticket holders will be contacted individually.

Alternatively, you can donate your ticket to support us, which would be hugely appreciated and mean the world to us.

Much love, stay safe and we’ll see you at Newark Showground in 2021

UK Tech-Fest Team”

Tech-Fest 20201 will take place July 1st – 5th at Newark Showground, Newark.

 

Record Store Day To 2020 To Be Split Across Three Days

It has been confirmed that Record Store Day 2020 will now take place across three days this year.

The event, which was originally scheduled to take place on April 18th 2020 was moved to June 20th 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the annual event will take place across three Saturdays which will be known as Drop Dates.

The dates are as follows: August 29th, 26th September and October 24th 2020.

An updated list on what will be available on the dates will be released on June 1st 2020. Be sure to check the Record Store Day website for more information.

The separate dates are about “supporting the stores, as well as the artists, labels, distribution and every other business behind the scenes making record stores work” according to a press statement.

the full list of participating stores can be found here.