Alesana Cancel Shows Rather Than Make Fans Show Proof of Vaccination
North Carolina scenecore band Alesana have scrapped at least two dates — one in St. Louis, MO and one in Nashville, TN — on their currently-in-progress tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of their album The Emptiness.
Publicly, the band has been quiet as to the reasons for the cancellations, sharing only this vague message on social media:
“Unfortunately, our shows in Nashville and St. Louis have fallen through. We hope to see you the next time we roll into town!”
Notably, the comments on these posts have been disabled. Which is likely because the band knows they’re about to wade into a shit storm.
The band has sent the following e-mail to ticket holders for these canceled shows explaining, in far greater detail, why the shows have been junked:
“We are in unprecedented times as a music community in the face of a pandemic.
“The nature of safety, both for everyone personally and for the music community as a whole, has become an issue that no one could have foreseen and yet we are forced to deal with.
“The other issue that can’t be dismissed is everyone’s right to choose what they think is best for themselves, their bodies, and their families.
“When this tour was booked we were on a downward trend of infection and we made certain to play venues that were inclusive and permitted all attendees to come to the show, allowing all individuals to assess risk on their own and make a decision they were comfortable with.
“That is no longer the case and, after a lot of thought, we have decided to pull some shows that are no longer allowing that autonomy.
“We have no ill will towards the venues. We definitely understand and appreciate their right to set their own guidelines, but we too have a choice as to what restrictions are placed on our fans.
“The subject of the coronavirus has been about as divisive as it can get. Alesana’s members have opinions on all sides of the spectrum when it comes to the pandemic, but we do agree that how every individual feels, and the decisions they make for themselves, are personal choices and it’s not our place to enforce penalties on people who choose one way or the other.
“We encourage everyone to practice the safety measures that make you comfortable and remember that there is currently an inherent risk by attending a concert which you must accept if you want to see live music. That choice belongs to you.
“We love all of you and hope for nothing but good health in the Alesana Army, but we will not be the arbiters of who can and can’t see us based on their choices for their personal health.
“For those fans unable to see us as a result of these cancellations, we’re sorry the situation is what it is and hopefully we can make it up to you once the pandemic is in the rear view mirror.”
What Alesana’s statement fails to note, of course, is that the pandemic will be in the rearview mirror much sooner if everyone just goes and gets goddamn vaccinated already, and that the vast majority of people who won’t get vaccinated and say it’s a “choice for their personal health” are working from an array of misinformation propagated by lunatics, idiots, and lunatic idiots.
So Alesana now join such illustrious acts as Madball and Chelsea Grin in putting advice from One America News over advice from legitimate medical professionals.
I can’t believe I’m gonna go through all this again, but I’m gonna go through all this again:
No one is asking anyone to share deeply personal information.
They are asking that you demonstrate a willingness to do everything in your power to end a pandemic that has killed as many Americans as World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and both wars in Iraq combined. You give away more sensitive information just using your phone to play Candy Crush Saga.
Of course, there are a small percentage of people who can’t get vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons. That’s terrible. But again, it’s a small amount of the 90 million eligible unvaccinated Americans, and those who can’t get vaccinated would be much less likely to contract and spread the virus if almost everyone else around them was vaccinated.
I’m saying everyone needs to stop treating asking for proof of vaccination like it’s Nazis making the Jews wear Stars of David and start treating it more like one big global friendship bracelet. Don’t just do it for yourself: do it for all of us!
Here are Alesana’s canceled dates:
08/14 – St Louis, MO @ Red Flag
08/15 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
Here are the dates they still have scheduled, at least for the time being:
08/12 – Madison, WI @ The Med Zone [tickets]
08/13 – Joliet, IL @ The Fit [tickets]
08/14 – St Louis, MO @ Med Flag [tickets]
08/16 – Springfield, MO @ Moderna Ballroom [tickets]
08/17 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 19’s Beat [tickets]
08/18 – Corpus Christi, TX @ Pfizerz [tickets]
08/19 – Dallas, TX @ Auntie Baddie’s [tickets]
08/20 – Lubbock, TX @ Jabs [tickets]
08/21 – Austin, TX @ Come and Take Your Medicine Live [tickets]
08/22 – Houston, TX @ Roll Up Your Sleeve Bar [tickets]
