Country Band Forced To Cancel Show
on Jul 09, 2018
Country/rock/folk band The Avett Brothers were forced to cancel their concert on Saturday (July 7). As concertgoers were filling into the Edgefield McMenamins in Troutdale, Oregon, a man with a gun attempted to enter the venue.
According to the statement released by the band, “an individual passing through the metal detector was found to be carrying a gun.”
Statement regarding July 7 #Edgefield show cancellation: https://t.co/u9bbakJeEz
— The Avett Brothers (@theavettbros) July 8, 2018
A security guard informed the man of the venue’s no-firearm policy, and the man informed her that he was a police officer from out of state, and provided a badge. The security guard then told the man to wait for her manager to see how they would proceed.
The man did not listen to her instructions and continued into the venue, where security lost sight of him. After searching, they still could not locate him, so they made the decision to cancel the performance and get everyone out of the venue.
“Due to the obvious threat posed by someone in the audience with a firearm, regardless of his (unconfirmed) claim of being a member of law enforcement, we were obligated, for the safety of everyone present, to cancel the performance,” the Avett Brothers wrote in their statement. “It was unfortunate that such action had to be taken, but we have no regret in being in a position to make a decision which helps to keep our fans safe,”
The band, which is made up of brothers Scott and Seth Avett, Bob Crawford, Joe Kwon, Mike Marsh, and Tania Elizabeth, said they will be making up the concert as early as they can. Cellist Joe Kwon took to Twitter to apologize to the fans.
https://twitter.com/joekwon80/status/1015828862586908672
The venue’s Instagram account announced that tickets for the July 7 show will be honored whenever the rescheduled date will be.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk9WByhj–K/?taken-by=edgefieldconcerts
Fans on social media were thankful of the measure that the band and the venue took to ensure their safety. We are glad no one was injured.
