Back in August, thousands of country fans in North Carolina were excited to watch Blake Shelton perform as the headlining act at the Carolina Kickoff concert at East Carolina University. But just a little over two weeks before the show, it was abruptly postponed.
At first, angry fans thought the postponement was Shelton’s fault. He quickly cleared the air, telling fans that he and his team had nothing to do with the concert being pushed back.
I wanna be clear that the Greenville concert cancel had NOTHING to do w me/my camp. I was ready to play! I love Greenville Ill be back ASAP!
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) August 4, 2017
In a statement, a spokesperson for ECU explained the real reason why the concert had been postponed. The statement made it clear that it was the show’s promoter, not Shelton or his team, that asked for the Carolina Kickoff to be rescheduled:
“ECU was contacted by Basis Entertainment requesting that the performance of the Carolina Kickoff be rescheduled, citing several reasons but voicing special concern about the timing of the show. Basis Entertainment believed that the event would be negatively affected by other events on the scheduled date.”
The Carolina Kickoff was rescheduled to April 21, 2018. In the meantime, fans who purchased tickets to the show were given the chance to attend a free concert with Big & Rich, Parmalee, and Tucker Beathard.
Anyone who was looking forward to the rescheduled Carolina Kickoff got another dose of bad news on Wednesday (March 7). It was announced that the concert was called off for a second time after Basis Entertainment failed to find a headlining act to replace Shelton, who couldn’t make the rescheduled date.
In a statement obtained by The News & Observer, ECU officials said they are currently communicating with the North Carolina Attorney General’s office about legalities, including the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Basis Entertainment.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and realize this has been a frustrating process,” said ECU senior associate athletic director for internal operations J.J. McLamb. “That is why ECU has stepped up to provide refunds to ticket holders instead of continuing to wait on responses from the promoter.“
Refunds will be available to all who purchased tickets to the Carolina Kickoff concert, and should take no longer than six weeks to process.
What a mess! Were you planning to attend either of the Carolina Kickoff shows? Even if you weren’t, we want to hear your thoughts on this whole ordeal.