Bright Eyes have issued a statement after their anniversary show had to be evacuated due to extreme weather.
Earlier this year, Conor Oberst and co. announced three shows to mark the 21st anniversary of their classic albums ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ and ‘Digital Ash in a Digital Urn’.
The first of the three took place at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in May, which was followed by another later that month at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
On Saturday (June 6), the band were due to play Forest Hills Stadium in New York. However, the gig was promptly shut down and evacuated due to severe weather – the same storm that also impacted that weekend’s Governors Ball.
Now, Oberst has issued a statement, telling fans they’re “still reeling and devastated” over the cancellation. “After over a year of planning, it’s been difficult to process our disappointment while also working through next steps,” he wrote.
Oberst went on to provide fans with “a clearer picture of what happened”. He wrote: “The storm on June 6 moved in fast and hit hard,” adding: “These kinds of decisions are made in constant real-time contact with meteorologists and city officials, and this one ended up being the worst-case scenario.
“We were cleared to play our ‘Wide Awake’ set, with the understanding that conditions could change rapidly,” he continued. “And that’s exactly what happened. As we walked off stage, we were told by the promoter and venue that the show had to be shut down immediately due to extreme weather risk for the safety of all.”
He continued: “For the record, we worked really hard for many months getting these 3 shows together and 2 of the 3 were affected by severe weather completely out of our control. Needless to say, we are feeling extremely sad, unlucky, maybe even cursed. We lost money on the whole endeavor and worst of all didn’t get to complete what we set out to do.
Fans who purchased tickets online via AXS will be automatically refunded in full. Those who bought from elsewhere are encouraged to contact their original point of purchase to request a refund. You can read the full statement below.
In other news, last year, Oberst showed up to his own lookalike contest in Omaha, gifting a bag of his clothes to the winner.
The year before then, the band dropped the album ‘Five Dice, All Threes’ to critical acclaim, which included collaborations with artists including Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger and the So So Glos’ Alex Orange Drink.
Speaking about the record in an interview with NME, the frontman said: “This time, I still hope the songs resonate and have equal amounts of meaning, but as far as the sounds and approach to the music, it’s a bit lighter.”
“The word ‘fun’ is very rarely used to describe my band, but maybe it is a bit more fun,” he continued. “When we last went on tour we were cruising around with a 14-piece band and strings and horns. This record is going to be just guitars; rock and roll stuff.”