Halsey cancelled their headlining show in Maryland, where they were scheduled to perform last night (June 8), due to the venue becoming heavily flooded.
Storms had begun to affect the area that evening, CBS reported, with the Howard County and Baltimore areas briefly placed under a tornado warning. Fans had already filled the Merriweather Post Pavilion when the 19,000-capacity venue started flooding, as it had stressed hours earlier that “the show is still happening rain or shine”.
The venue later announced on Twitter that Halsey’s show had been delayed. At 9pm, it posted instructing concertgoers to re-enter the venue, as it would commence 30 minutes later. At 10pm, however, it confirmed that the show had been cancelled altogether “due to weather-related technical difficulties”.
Videos posted from inside the venue show floodwaters surging through the crowd. One video showed an area of the venue being pelted with heavy rain, while another showed a crew member violently kicking a squirrel off the stage (which had also flooded).
Halsey’s team went all out with the special effects for this tour pic.twitter.com/ydEvGVZwtb
— stace (@Th3yCallMeSTACI) June 9, 2022
— Ben (@Bennyokay_) June 9, 2022
There’s no way this halsey Maryland show is real like WHAT pic.twitter.com/vojuVzalum
— amma
(@ammamariee) June 9, 2022
Unreal shit at Halsey in Maryland pic.twitter.com/VluYTQD8u1
— Frankie Mario (@frankiemario_) June 9, 2022
Addressing the situation on their own Twitter account, Halsey said they “don’t even know what to say”, and assured fans that they would “post something soon [to explain] what happened”. They continued: “I’m heartbroken and panicked and I just want to know when/that you all get home safely. I love you guys more than anything.”
Responding to a (since-deleted) tweet from a fan imploring them to push ahead with the show regardless, Halsey commented: “I promise I wanted to more than anything. But I couldn’t because it would have been SO unsafe if I went out there and people rushed the stage during or after the storm. A lot of things were out of my control tonight but I promise everything I COULD choose, I chose your safety.”
Halsey later hit out at the organisers of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, saying they were “beyond disappointed with the way the venue handled everything tonight”, and assuring ticketholders that a rescheduled date in Maryland (which is yet to be announced) “will be happening somewhere else”.
Maryland I don’t even know what to say. If you missed my live, I’ll post something soon explaining what happened. But right now I’m heartbroken and panicked and I just want to know when/that you all get home safely. I love you guys more than anything.
— h (@halsey) June 9, 2022
I promise I wanted to more than anything. But I couldn’t because it would have been SO unsafe if I went out there and people rushed the stage during or after the storm. A lot of things were out of my control tonight but I promise everything I COULD choose, I chose your safety.
https://t.co/dGhgDXd5YM
— h (@halsey) June 9, 2022
I really want to add that I am beyond disappointed with the way the venue handled everything tonight and my rescheduled date will be happening somewhere else. I hear you guys loud and clear I promise.
— h (@halsey) June 9, 2022
Halsey is currently underway with their ‘Love And Power’ tour, which continues on Saturday (June 11) in New York. Before then, however, they’ll release a new single. ‘So Good’ is slated to land at 11pm BST tonight (June 9), with a video following at 5pm BST tomorrow (June 10). A teaser for the song was shared on Tuesday (June 7), after it was announced last week.
‘So Good’ comes after Halsey shared their battle with their label to get it released. In a TikTok, they revealed that their label was “saying that [they] can’t release [the song] unless they can fake a viral moment”. Halsey’s posts sparked a wide conversation amongst fans and fellow artists about the music industry’s focus on TikTok.
The post Halsey cancels Maryland show due to flooding, calls out venue appeared first on NME.
