DevilDriver Pull Out Of Legion Festival As Organisers Work To Ensure The Event’s Future

August 2, 2016

UPDATE 02/11/16: Legion Festival 2017 has been cancelled.

ORIGINAL STORY: US metal band DevilDriver are no longer part of Australia’s Legion Festival, with organisers telling Music Feeds that plans are being made to bolster the festival’s future.

Taking to Twitter today, DevilDriver vocalist Dez Fafara told fans that the band are no longer part of Legion Festival, and instead reached out to AJ Maddah, the mastermind of the defunct Soundwave Festival, for some support:

https://twitter.com/evilriver/status/760214684419125248

In a statement to Music Feeds, Legion Festival has confirmed DevilDriver’s departure from the event’s inaugural lineup, even though the band is still listed on the Legion Festival website. What’s more, organisers say they are “taking the necessary steps to ensure longevity for an inaugural event of this size”.

“We wish Dez and Devildriver all the best and thank the band for their support for Legion over the last months. They are a sensational live act and one we look forward to seeing at a future Legion,” Legion Festival says.

“We understand the timing of our launch announcement is critical for particular acts on the currently identified line-up and considering the nature of the event we are building we have no desire to impede any other touring opportunities.”

DevilDriver last performed in Australia in 2014, and were added to the Legion Festival lineup with Front Line Assembly and Aversions Crown in January this year. The band released their latest album, Trust No One in May.

Returning Fafara’s shoutout on Twitter, AJ Maddah has since put himself in the running to become the promoter who brings DevilDriver to Australia the next time around…

Will do.

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) August 1, 2016

…but fellow tour promoter John Howarth has thrown his hat in the ring as well, so fans should rest easy knowing that the band will probably return to Aussie shores soon enough:

I can help

— John Howarth (@JohnRiot) August 2, 2016

Last month, the former band of Legion Festival organiser John Sankey, Devil You Know, told fans that they are no longer performing at Legion, after Sankey announced his departure from the band in June this year.

The first-ever Legion Festival is still set to host performances by the likes of Lordi and Darkest Hour come January. The festival will make an appearance in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Catch some of Dez Fafara’s other Aussie-related tweets from today alongside Legion Festival’s 2017 dates, below.

Watch: DevilDriver – ‘My Night Sky’