Lauv cancels sold-out concerts in Malaysia, Singapore concert to proceed as planned
Written by ABR on 02/08/2023
American singer-songwriter Lauv has cancelled his two sold-out shows in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this September.
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On July 30, fans who had purchased tickets to see Lauv perform live in Malaysia received an email from concert promoter Live Nation Malaysia informing them that the shows had been cancelled, with refunds being made available to all ticket-holders.
“We regret to inform you that Lauv: The Between Albums Tour in Kuala Lumpur, originally scheduled for September 6 and 7 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances,” the email reads as shared by Twitter (X) user @sheilabcdefghi.
OMGGGG WHATTTT
ITS 2 DAYS SOLD OUT SHOWS!!!DAH BELI TIC WEIIIII
TAKKAN NAK KENA PERGI SINGAPORE!!
its on weekdays!!!!!!#LAUVinKL
— Sheila 쉴라 (@sheilabcdefghi) July 30, 2023
Lauv has yet to comment on the cancellations, and it currently unclear why the shows were scrapped besides Live Nation’s “unforeseen circumstances” reasoning. However, Lauv’s concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on September 5 will proceed as scheduled, per a statement from Live Nation to the Straits Times.
Elsewhere in his Asia tour, Lauv will perform in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines between August and September.
The cancellation of the Malaysia shows come after the country’s Good Vibes festival was scrapped last month over controversy led by The 1975.
The 1975 and Matty Healy were banned from Kuala Lumpur on July 21 for criticising the Malaysian government for anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Healy, who was visibly drinking onstage, had also smashed a festival-owned drone, and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald onstage, before announcing just seven songs into their set that they had been banned from Malaysia and had to leave.
“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” Healy said prior to the kiss.
The band were headlining the first day of the Good Vibes Festival. The following day (July 22), the country’s communications minister announced that he had ordered the rest of the festival cancelled.
The Malaysian LBGTQ+ community has since condemned Healy’s actions, with many saying he has set back years of progress that the local community has made. “If anything, what Matt Healy and The 1975 have done is discount and disrupted YEARS of work by local activists who have been pushing for change and understanding AND endangering our vulnerable minority communities,” Joe Lee wrote in a viral Twitter thread.
Malaysian artists and vendors are also readying a class action lawsuit against Matty Healy and The 1975. The class action lawsuit, which is being readied by Malaysian law firm Thomas Philip, will name all four members of The 1975 and seek compensation over losses suffered as a result of the incident, which the firm’s founder and managing partner Matthew Thomas Philip labelled a “deliberate reckless act done knowing well [sic] of the consequences”
The cancellation of Good Vibes also reportedly affected 28 food vendors who spent thousands in Malaysian ringgit to purchase stock for the festival – at least RM15,000 (£2,500), according to one vendor – on top of paying upfront to rent a stall on site, among other costs. Calls to support affected vendors have been circulating in local media.
The post Lauv cancels sold-out concerts in Malaysia, Singapore concert to proceed as planned appeared first on NME.
ABR Group