African Music stars keep calling off gigs, concerts, and tours as restrictions are being imposed on travel and large public events all across the world due to the spread of COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus.
From festival cancellations to venue limbo to self-quarantine, the pandemic has completely rocked the music industry.
Below is a list of African music events canceled due to coronavirus pandemic:
KING PROMISE
Ghanaian musician King Promise has postponed his on-going world tour due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
Having already performed in Berlin, Hamburg, Brescia, and Amsterdam from 5th March, the Commando hitmaker’s 8th March sold-out London show was the biggest yet and had everyone talking. His next stop which happens to be Canada has however been postponed due to the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus.
DAVIDO
Davido has also publicly announced the postponement of his North American Tour till further notice. Davido posted on social media Thursday night, to announce the postponement of his North American Tour that was scheduled between March and April.
STONEBWOY
Dancehall star Stonebwoy, who was supposed to begin his North American Tour with a New York concert on March 13, has been forced to cancel his upcoming concert due to the fast-spreading coronavirus. As per reports, all gatherings of people of 500 or higher have been banned in New York City, making it impossible for the concert to come off.
SISTA AFIA
Ghanaian songstress, Sista Afia has canceled her musical tour in Italy scheduled for June due to the coronavirus pandemic. Italy, which is now the heart of the deadly outbreak in Europe is on lockdown and currently recording daily increases in deaths.
Mr. Emmanuel Arhin, professionally known as Bossu Kule, manager for the multiple award-winning artist in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said, “we have been monitoring the situation in Italy and we thought it wise to cancel our forthcoming show scheduled to take place in June, Modena. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
JOEY B
Ghanaian rapper Joey B who recently performed at the “My Homeland” concert in New York on the 6th of March took to his twitter to express his disappointment for having upcoming shows in London and Amsterdam canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
SEUN KUTI
Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the world will not take place as scheduled.
Nigerian singer, Seun Kuti, and his band the Egypt 80 were billed to perform at Coachella alongside other big artists which include South African DJ Black Coffee, Travis Scott, Rage Against The Machine and Frank Ocean and many more.
BURNA BOY
Nigerian superstar Burna Boy’s concert which was scheduled for Windhoek on 4 April 2020 is also canceled. Burna Boy was scheduled to perform as part of the African Giant Tour in a concert organized by Mindscape Events.
Namibia has suspended all public gatherings for the next 30 days after a Spanish couple who arrived in the country on Wednesday have tested positive for coronavirus, the first reported case in the country.
LA MEME GANG
Last week, major US festival SXSW was canceled for the first time in 34 years. Enigmatic Ghanaian music collective La Meme Gang was billed to perform at the festival. Organizers said they were “devastated to share this news”, and added that they are now “working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation”.
STORMZY
The UK rap superstar of Ghanaian descent is currently in the middle of his year-long Heavy Is The Head tour, his biggest to date. In February, he announced that gigs in Asia scheduled for this month would not be going ahead. Writing on Twitter, he said: “I was seriously looking forward to bringing the #HITH World tour to Asia and playing some epic sold-out shows but due to the ongoing health and travel concerns surrounding the coronavirus, I’m regrettably having to reschedule this leg of the tour.”
A gig planned for 5 March in Zurich, Switzerland – where the government has put a ban on any events with more than 1,000 people in attendance – has also been called off.
AFRO NATION – Puerto Rico
Afro Nation Puerto Rico, which was originally scheduled to take place March 18th-21st, has been canceled due to ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic concerns.
African music stars such as Yemi Alade, Stonebwoy, 2baba, Sho Majodzi, Niniola, Davido, Naira Marley, Burnaboy, Wizkid, R2bees, and several others were billed to perform at the music festival.
Afro Nation Portugal, which is set to take place in July, is as of now still scheduled to take place.
SAFTAs (South African Film and Television Awards)
The 14th edition of the prestigious South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), has been canceled to adhere to President Ramaphosa’s strict measures implemented, to curb the deadly virus outbreak. This follows after the president made a shocking announcement that, gatherings of more than 100 people will be prohibited in the country.
