Ghost has been having one hell of a time on tour lately. First there was the debacle over whether or not fans could dress up in costume at a Missouri show, and now there are issues pertaining to Mother Nature herself.
Ghost originally cancelled their August 30 and 31 shows in Florida due to the imminent impact of Hurricane Idalia, but tried to move forward with their August 29 show at the CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville, SC. The August 29 show was then suddenly cancelled due to equipment failures in the worsening weather, which left tons of fans confused at the venue without explanation. Ghost has now apologized and issued the following statement chronicling the day's events:
"Children of South Carolina (and beyond)!" wrote Ghost. "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."
