BLABBERMOUTH.NET
Canadian heavy music artist
Devin Townsend has postponed the remaining shows on his North American tour in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The trek kicked off on February 27 in Toronto and was scheduled to end on March 25 in San Francisco.
Earlier today,
Devin released the following statement regarding the concert postponements:
"It is with immense disappointment that I have been put in the position to announce the postponement of the remaining dates on my
'Empath Vol. 1 North American Tour' due to Corona Virus.
"With the travel ban in effect from Europe and the consequent chaos that has brought to travel plans, as well as the increasing social unrest, combined with the fact that half of this crew is either European or from the UK, it put us in a tenuous position. Several of the dates have been cancelled by the state, and I suspect many more to come.
"This is a postponement, not a cancellation. And your support has been tremendous thus far. The best it's been in North America. Thank you and immense apologies to those who were looking forward to it. Also, apologies to our fantastic crew and incredible band for the loss of income.
"Thank you for your patience and sorry for the short notice. This came up overnight in a chaotic flurry of new information.
"Much love, till next time
Dev"
He added via
Twitter: "The remainder of the tour is postponed. We found out at 3 am as a result of the travel ban put into effect yesterday. I can't begin to express my disappointment and I apologize especially to those who have travelled.
"It's not responsible to hold big meetings of people in this current climate, perhaps not for you and I, but especially the ramifications of spreading it to people who we may interact with who are older or immune compromised.
"It has been a really hard day. No one has slept in over 30 hours. I was asked to wait before I announced so the official statement could be cleared with agents, rental companies, venues etc. Again, this is a postponement, not cancellation
"Your support has been so wonderful on this run, I'm so sorry."
Townsend released his acclaimed new album
"Empath" in March 2019 and embarked on the
"Empath - European Tour Vol. 1" last November.
Since disbanding the
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT,
Devin has been tracking down players of excellence to form a new live band, the initial incarnation of which he presented via a video message in September.
"Empath" saw
Devin incorporating all the styles that make up his current interests in one place.
