The Black Keys surprised fans by quietly announcing the cancellation of a significant leg of their tour and now,it’s beenrevealed why.
The American rock duomade up ofPatrick Carney, 44, and Dan Auerbach, 45, was set to tour North America in September in support of their latest album, Ohio Players, but they cancelled their shows just last week.
With little to no explanation, fans were left in the dark about the sudden decision, but it now appears they have their answer, and it could be related to low ticket sales.
Taking to Instagram, the band released a statement explaining that the duo are ‘alive and well’, butfollowing their recent UK and Europe shows, they would be ‘making some changes’ to the next leg of the International Players Tour.
The band told fans the changes ‘will enable us to offer a similarly exciting, intimate experience for both fans and the band, and will be announcing a revised set of dates shortly.’
While it remains unclear if the cancellation was due to low ticket sales, fans appear tobe in favour ofthe news, with many claiming they would prefer a smaller venue.
‘Glad to hear it. Theatre/Amp shows will be way more fun than a bunch of overpriced arenas,’ @conradj187 commented on the Instagram post.
Another fan, @ohitsyo, added,’ I would happily pay three times the money to watch you all in a tinier venue.’
@arenfro44 wrote, ‘Smaller venues means a better show. I’d love to see them at Musica in Akron again. That show was amazing.’
Elsewhere,fans have taken to the social media forum Reddit to voice their speculation regarding low ticket sales.
A source claiming to work in the industry, @ameeps, wrote, ‘Dan & Pat need to realize that they’re no longer an arena band. It’s hard accepting that you’re past your prime, but youhave totake emotions out of it – it’s just business.’
Many users agreed, with some explaining they would have loved to have attended if the ticket prices were cheaper.
@ChewieHanKenobi wrote: ‘Ive never had the chance to see them and planned on finally doing it this tour.Sawthe ticket prices, closed my phone and just moved on with my life.’
Why do you think the band cancelled their tour? Comment Now
Another fan, @brokenwolf, confessed they saw the band live last year and would have returned ‘if their tickets are cheaper’.
@Playful-Drive-3634 said, ‘I think there are still plenty of people who would love to see them but not for the prices they’re charging.’
Elsewhere, a fan shared a screengrab of the tickets available for Baltimore CFG Bank Arena before the band’s cancellation.Thereappeared to bethousands of seats available.
@burtmacklin94 captioned the post, ‘Is this tour selling at all?’
Tickets were priced between $80 and $250 for their arena tour.
Carney and Auerbach first teamed up in 2001, where they began recording and mixing theirownblues-inspired rock music in basem*nts in Ohio.
After almost a decade of releasing tracks, the band became one of the most popular garage rock artists of their time and found their big break in 2010 with the release of their sixth studio album, Brothers.
Debuting at number one on the Billboard 100, the band was catapulted into a new level of fame, and they won their first-ever Grammy award for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal.
They would become the last group to win the category after it was scrapped the following year in an overhaul.
Following the success of Brothers, The Black Keys released El Camino thenextyear with lead single Lonely Boy, which landed three Grammy nominations – including Record of the Year.
Despite failing to reach the top 50 in the US, the single won two accolades and has gone on to become an infamous part of their catalogue with its inclusion in film, TV, and sports productions.
The band has continued to see mainstream success, going on to release their seventh album, Turn Blue, which debuted at number oneinthe US and Australian album charts, and their 2019 single Lo/Hi, which landed at number one on the Rock charts.
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