San Cisco have called on Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the state government for assistance following the abrupt closure of a Sunshine Coast venue the night before they were set to play.
San Cisco, currently on their ‘Between You and Me’ tour, were set to play Gold Coast’s Nightquarter on Saturday night (June 12). However, at 8:30pm the prior evening, the venue was closed following complaints about COVID-19 safety protocol at events the weekend before (June 4 and 5).
The planned concert, which also had Jaguar Jonze on board as a support act, was expected to bring in a revenue of $60,000. Those involve argue that they were not given appropriate time to plan a new show nor save money on accommodation and transport, as well as wages for touring personnel.
For these reasons, they’re asking for compensation for both direct and potential losses caused by the cancellation.
“We knew that our fans from the Sunshine Coast had made this our biggest show of the tour,” San Cisco frontman Jordi Davieson said of the cancellation.
“We had already had to cancel once already, so it was upsetting to have to let our fans down again.”
Jonze, a Brisbane artist, echoed the sentiment, saying “The fact that we are struggling to play our contracted shows even in our home state shows how little support we are shown as active employers and participants in the economy.
“The arts industries have been decimated and it’s amazing that we continue to try to push through. QLD should be proud of the work we continually put in to bring live music to all parts of this state and we expect the QLD government to make fairer assessments of the risks associated with live events and offer the same consideration to music events as they have shown to other industries.”
Booking agent Stephen Wade backed San Cisco’s call for compensation, saying “The live music industry has endured more than most during this pandemic and is still not back to 100% 16 months after Covid closed our industry down.
“The weekend’s actions have to stop and the over policing of live music events needs to be addressed immediately. We are still yet to see any documentation from QLD Health or any health department in Australia giving us an explanation as to why our events are deemed so dangerous to the health of the general public, and all we are asking for is a fair go, bearing in mind that there has still not been a single transmission of COVID-19 at a ticketed live music event in Australia EVER.”
Philip Stevens of San Cisco’s management team called out the double standards between the arts and sport.
“The behaviour of patrons at the NightQuarter is no different to that experienced at sporting events around the state in the very same week,” Stevens said.
“As of this point in time no cases of COVID have been attributed to gatherings of people at music concerts throughout Australia. So why are venues and concerts still being targeted by State governments as dangerous activities in comparison to major sporting events that are occurring every week? The arts industry is suffering, especially the hundreds of musicians who have no clear pathway forwards for their careers.”
The cancellation of the show at NightQuarter comes just after the band had to postpone a string of shows in Victoria following the state’s lockdown. The tour itself, supporting an album that dropped in September, has also already had to be moved many times.
The QLD State government has yet to respond to San Cisco’s call for assistance.
The ‘Between You And Me’ tour is set to continue this Thursday, 17th June in Adelaide.
