It’s been a rough week for Rolling Loud, first with having five artists removed from the New York edition of the festival. Then co-owner Tariq Cherif came under fire from the EDM Twitter community for his comments targeting EDM festivals. But that’s perhaps nothing compared to the rough few months Hong Kong has had. With major protests taking place almost every weekend, many events have already been cancelled in the city. The latest among these cancellations is Rolling Loud Hong Kong.
Originally scheduled for the upcoming weekend (October 19-20), Rolling Loud Hong Kong would have been the hip-hop festival’s first foray into Asia. In collaboration with Live Nation Electronic Asia, the festival had invited major international acts including Migos, Wiz Khalifa and Playboi Carti. Other rising acts such as 3HO, GO$H and Young13DBaby were also part of the lineup.
An official statement released by Rolling Loud suggested that the cancellation was “not a decision that has been taken lightly” but that “it [was] not possible to organise the upcoming Rolling Loud Hong Kong edition as we had hoped without endangering the safety and well-being of our fans, artists, and staff.” Those who have previously purchased tickets will receive full refunds.
Since June, Hong Kong has seen a summer of protests that start with the city’s population demanding the withdrawal of a proposed extradition bill. That has since evolved into a movement for democratic freedom and autonomy from China. (Understandable, even Zedd got banned from the country just for liking a South Park tweet!)
What’s Next?
Sadly, because in many cases demonstrations end up quite violent, it’s no surprise that Rolling Loud was not alone in terms of event cancellations. Other events and live music shows such as Oktoberfest, a gig by CHVRCHES and another with Carly Rae Jepsen have been cancelled. More are to be expected.
There are still a few other festivals planned for the city before 2019 ends. That includes the widely anticipated Creamfields. The festival is scheduled to take place at the same location on December 28 and 29. We can only imagine EDM fans will definitely be keeping a watchful eye on any updates. Last year’s lineup included Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren and Alesso.
We hope for the best that the beautiful city will soon have its peace restored. Every city deserves its share of good live music.
