Charli and Jack will no longer “Do America.”
A cancellation notice was just issued for the fall leg of Charli XCX and Bleachers’ upcoming tour, which included a September 14 date at the House of Blues in Boston. Both artists released lengthy statements regarding the cancellation, and after reading both, it looks like the decision to bail first was Charli’s.
We’ll keep our commentary to a minimum, as both artists’ explanation of what is going on is rather detailed. Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff stresses, however, that the affected shows are only the ones involving Ms. XCX, and explains which of his band’s upcoming live dates are still a go.
Let’s get into it. First up, here is word from Charli XCX:
Dear angels, friends and fans.
I have some bad news. Regrettably I will not be continuing my spot on the “Charli and Jack Do America Tour” this coming autumn. For personal reasons I will not be able to continue this tour. These personal reasons include the fact that I need to be creative. Artists tour for a really really long time and I have been on the road for a while now, probably not as long as some, but for me it feels like an eternity. I am struggling to create whilst I’m on the road and that is making me unhappy.
As an artist I need to move quickly and write a lot to not feel restless. Sometimes touring really puts me in this isolated world where I feel down and sad but primarily I struggle to multitask and write songs at the same time which is what I need to do to feel OK. I never want to do a show where I just feel like I’m going through the motions. I want to perform and feel alive and like I want to be there and if I force myself to do this, I will not perform a great show for you.
I had a really wonderful and amazing time touring throughout the first leg with Bleachers, one of the most incredible, energetic and kind bands (and crew) I’ve ever been on the road with. Jack is a star and his show is truly amazing. I will still be joining him for the Shadow Of The City Festival, his own festival, in New Jersey on September 19th.
I am so sorry to all of the angels I am bailing on last minute. Please know this was not an easy decision. I feel terrible letting you down like this and I really I hope I haven’t messed up your plans too much. I’ve been honest and even though some of you will be understandably angry, I hope you can respect my telling the truth in this matter. Once again sorry.
Lots of love Charli xxxxx
And here is a message from Antonoff:
hi guys!
as you might have JUST found out – unfortunately the second leg of “jack and charli do america” has been cancelled.
i want explain the situation to you all of you from me directly – but first I want to express something right off the bat so there is no confusion or room for gossip of any sorts.
i love charli. she’s my friend and i respect her as a person and as an artist.
so here is what happened and i’m just gonna give you the actual story with no filter. was all geared up for leg 2 of the tour when we got a call from charli’s camp that she couldn’t continue on the tour. came as a bit of a shock to me as I’m sure it is to you right now. i need you guys to have the truthful and unfiltered version of what happened because canceling shows is something i do not do unless I physically can’t walk on to the stage. i know how important these shows are to you guys – they mean everything to me. i wish there was something here that made more sense to all of us.
since I found out my team and i have been scrambling to try and figure out a way to continue with the tour on our own, but It has been made clear that reworking the tour at this late stage without charli is not realistic. between refunding and re-ticketing and figuring out what to do with the venues there is just no way to make this work without it being sloppy. you guys ONLY deserve the best shows and im never going to give you anything but my best.
i’m deeply sorry and extremely disappointed that a decision as big as a cancellation is out of my hands — and you have my word that I will do everything in my power to make sure something like this never happens again in the future.
leg one was probably my favorite tour I’ve ever been on and i can’t thank everyone enough for making those shows a dream come true. that tour was incredible because of you guys and what you create at the shows. as bleachers has grown the shows get more and more intense and its something i can’t thank you enough for. there is nothing on earth better than celebrating this music with you guys.
the only piece of good news here is because of the cancellation I will be getting back into the studio a bit quicker than planned to work on the new bleachers album for you all – promise to get back and tour on that asap.
some logistical details below:
to be very clear, the only dates that are cancelled are the co-headline dates with charli, so both NC shows, toronto and of course shadow of the city in NJ are NOT changing. can promise you that we will make these shows better than ever. can promise you that specifically shadow of the city there will be nothing left in us when we leave that stage.
lastly, these are the shows on the books close to a lot of the cancelled dates, look below.
Boston, DC, CT, Philly, NYC – hope to see all you guys in jersey at shadow of the city. its a large space and there are tickets available so this show should be able to accommodate everyone whose shows are not happening in these areas.LA, Vegas, AZ – doing a benefit show on 8/28 for the ally coalition in LA. it’ll be acoustic and just a few songs but I’m also gonna play with some friends that night and it will be a very special one if you can make it.
SLC – promise to get back ASAP. you know it’s one of my favorite places in the world.
TX – we are doing a private show on 9/5 in austin, but they are giving out some tickets. heres the link to try and get tickets. hope to see many of you there. http://bit.ly/1hQzlTt
FL, ATL – north carolina is as close as we are getting. but working on something to get down to you guys sooner than later.
thank you and sorry,
jack
More to come on this, certainly…
Here is the pair in happier times: