In the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks that have sent shockwaves through Paris and the rest of the world, numerous events have either been cancelled or postponed while the city comes to grips with the scope of the tragedy.
One such event is the world-travelling Red Bull Music Academy, which kicked off last month. It’s been postponed until further notice, leaving a number of participating artists on lockdown in the city.
As The Music reports, among them is Perth singer Kučka and Melbourne electro-indie artist DXHeaven.
Kučka took to Facebook following the initial attacks to assure fans that she was safe, posting:
“Yes I’m fine, gonna be in lockdown in the hotel today.”
It’s understood that all Red Bull artists still in Paris are now safe as well.
Organisers of the event announced its postponement also via Facebook, writing: “Following the security recommendations of the French authorities, we will not host any shows in Paris until at least Thursday, November 19.”
https://twitter.com/RBMA/status/665495064894902273
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The likelihood of the workshops-based event continuing is now reportedly in doubt, but we’ll be sure to bring you any more news as it develops.
Meanwhile, Kučka and DXHeaven weren’t the only Aussie musicians in Paris at the time of the deadly attacks.
Prog rockers Closure In Moscow performed in Paris on the night of the horrifying events, before taking to Facebook to report that they were all safe and heading out of the city. “Our thoughts and love go out to everyone that has been effected by this terrible night so far,” they said.
Boo Seeka and Jarryd James were performing in a nearby venue, and took to social media to report they had been on lockdown inside for hours whilst sirens rang across the city. The Boo Seeka lads assured fans they were safe and had “been offered couches for the night by some lovely fellow Aussies.”
We have finally been let out of the venue we have been locked in for the last 4 hours we played tonight in Paris into a…
Posted by BOO SEEKA on Friday, 13 November 2015
@mattandalex hey boys I'm so good. Thank you for your message – we were locked up in the venue that we played for a few hours but safe now
— Jarryd James (@jarrydjames) November 14, 2015
Sydney outfit What So Not also managed to make it out of Paris, and are now considering themselves very lucky: “Love to everyone in Paris right now,” they posted to Facebook. “We left 2 hours before it all went down, feeling lucky. Please be careful friends.”
And speaking of lucky, it’s also just emerged that members of Deftones were actually hanging out at the Eagles Of Death metal concert where the night’s most horrific massacres took place, but left before the gunmen stormed in.
The Soundwave 2016 act were scheduled to play at the Bataclan venue on three consecutive nights from Saturday November 14th, and with nothing on their schedule on Friday, a few members of the band chose to rock up early to the venue to check out EODM.
Although it’s not clear which band members were at the show, frontman Chino Moreno (who was at dinner with his family instead) shared an account with CBS News and assured the world that everyone in the band was OK (via MetalSucks):
“Yeah, we’re safe,” he said. “We weren’t scheduled to play at the Bataclan until tomorrow night. A couple of band members, they went to the concert, but they left early—after the first few songs they ended up leaving the venue. They got out of there and all of our band and crew are safe and accounted for at the hotel now. So, we are just here, we’re pretty much on lockdown. They told everybody pretty much to stay indoors and don’t go out, because they’re still—everything is still unfolding as we speak.”
Deftones’ scheduled shows at the Bataclan have, needless to say, been cancelled (along with other dates from Foo Fighters and U2) while more of their European tour dates also remain in doubt.
The string of coordinated attacks across the French capital that have left 129 people dead and around 350 injured.
Musicians across the globe have united to express support for Paris and pay tribute to beloved Eagles Of Death metal merch manager Nick Alexander, who was murdered at the band’s concert by the armed fanatics.
Meanwhile, bone-chilling footage has emerged of the exact moment that the gunfire erupted inside the Bataclan theatre, with a survivor posting a video to Instagram along with the message, “The last notes before the shooting, panic, and horror…”
If you can stomach it, watch the chilling footage below.
