Ghost Cancel More Shows After Rain Damages Equipment, Says Venue Left Fans Left in the Rain
A series of unfortunate circumstances, along with some major communication issues, caused a massive clusterfuck at Wednesday night’s Ghost show in Simpsonville, South Carolina, thanks to continued bad weather caused by Hurricane (now Tropical Storm) Idalia. And while rain outs and soaked fans are nothing new, Ghost is pointing the finger at event organizers and the venue itself for making fans wait for hours in the rain before the show’s cancellation without any explanation.
In a lengthy statement on Instagram, the band explained what happened on their end, which included a sudden outburst of torrential rain that ended up damaging important stage equipment, and how the venue’s apparent unwillingness to explain why the show was being canceled created a disappointing situation for everyone in attendance.
“Children of South Carolina (and beyond)!
“First off all we wish to apologize for taking this long to respond to yesterday’s prolonged cancellation, but we had to maneuver through a lot of bureaucratic hoops. We are as upset as you are about last night’s events. In an effort to clear the air of confusion, here’s what really happened yesterday:
“When our trucks and buses arrived yesterday morning, there was already a concern about the weather forecast as the stage has a very small roof and nothing covering the sides. Our main goal is for our fans to have a great experience. We were assured the weather would be fine later in the day, so we pressed ahead with all the show setup/preparations.
“Unlike CCNB, most outdoor concert venues have a large roof over the stage to safeguard all the sound and lighting equipment from inclement weather, as well as a roof over the audience to protect our fans. Yesterday we were all subject to no cover and the bad weather.
“It started raining heavily during the morning set up, and some pieces of our equipment had already started to malfunction.
“Luckily, we do have a very professional crew, that somewhat repaired or swapped spare parts etc, to make the show happen. We were ready to perform, completely dependent that the weather stay sunny, and the rain would pass us by!
“When Amon Amarth hit the stage, a sudden torrential rain began (as well as thunder), and the entire stage was completely flood- ed. Amon Amarth could only get thru a few songs of their show. Our crew covered as many pieces of equipment they could with tarp, especially the electronics and computers, and moved other electronics back into the trucks to protect them from the rain.
“As the rain subsided, it was clear that many of the key components of our show presentation were totally inoperable, mainly the sound and lighting control consoles, definitely a show stopping problem. All in all, it was impossible for us to perform and we told the venue this.
“We insisted the venue/promoter explain IMMEDIATELY to all our fans that were patiently waiting to be let back into the venue but we were met with legalese.
“Our crew continued trying to get the system working again but after a few hours it was clear nothing would work. Today we learned it would take 2-3 days at a minimum for us to replace the electronic equipment to perform any show.
“Sadly, without replacement equipment we are unable to perform in Simpsonville tomorrow, Thursday. Refunds will be issued automatically at point of purchase, there is nothing further ticketholders need to do.
“We are heartbroken thinking about what all you fans were put through because of this. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience, disappointment and irritation this has caused you all. We never intended to jerk you around and have you standing out in the rain without a clear understanding of what was going
on.“We apologize and hope that we have clarified yesterday’s chain of events.
“Stay Safe
“/A Nameless Ghoul”
Sounds like a rough situation over all. This comes just a day after Ghost announced they weren’t going to perform at their two Florida shows due to the inclement weather. All in all, this seems like a shitty situation that hopefully will get rectified with a makeup show in the future.
For the full list of tour dates, check out the list below. As long as they can replace their gear in time, the following dates should still be okay.
Sat Sep 02 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Sun Sep 03 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Tue Sep 05 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Thu Sep 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Fri Sep 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Mon Sep 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum ^
^ Amon Amarth Not on This Date
