Desaparecidos, the post-hardcore project of singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, have pulled out of their spot on the Soundwave Festival 2014 tour, which kicks off later this week. Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah broke the news via Twitter, saying they have postponed their Australian tour.
The announcement of the band’s cancellation came minutes after Soundwave organisers released maps and revised timetables for the event, following an influx of complaints from punters displeased with a number of band clashes. Desaparecidos were absent from the new timetables.
According to Maddah, the band “have had to postpone their Australian trip due to an issue of personal nature.” Maddah added that an official announcement was forthcoming and said that he couldn’t offer any details, only “offer my support & love to my friend Conor at this time.”
The band’s highly-anticipated Australian run was originally intended to be as part of last year’s cancelled Harvest Festival. The band was subsequently shifted over to the Soundwave lineup and came as a very welcome to addition to many punters eager to see Oberst’s latest project.
The band themselves were eager to come to Australia, appealing directly to Maddah via Twitter to arrange a replacement tour following the cancellation of Harvest. The band wrote that they “really want to come to Oz” and asked Maddah to contact their agent with the necessary “info.”
Back in January, Oberst was levelled with rape allegations by an anonymous commenter on the website xoJane. Oberst’s publicist issued a statement in which the allegations were dismissed as “spurious blog chatter” and stated that the singer was consulting with a libel attorney.
According to Maddah, Desaparecidos’ Australian tour has merely been “postponed,” not ruling out the possibility of a rescheduling. Last week, Oberst, now signed to Nonesuch Records, announced a new solo album titled Upside Down Mountain, slated for release on Friday, 16th May.
UPDATE 6:12pm AEDT 18/02/14: A post made to the official Desaparecidos Facebook page has cited the reason for the band’s postponement of their Australian commitments as the “ill health of a close family member,” apologising to fans and assuring them of a rescheduling:
“Due to the ill health of a close family member, Desaparecidos have been forced to pull out of the upcoming Soundwaves Festival in Australia. We apologize to our Australian fans and intend to reschedule these shows as soon as we are able to.”
The sudden cancellation of the highly anticipated act came as a shock to many SW fans, with few details given about their departure. AJ Maddah told one fan he felt “distraught” for singer-songwriter Oberst, though confirmed to a fan via Twitter that nothing had happened to Oberst “directly.”
Desaparecidos have had to postpone their Australian trip due to an issue of personal nature. #SW14
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 17, 2014
As we are waiting on official announcement I can't really go into it except to offer my support & love to my friend Conor at this time #SW14
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 17, 2014
