Midway through their extensive UK tour, Enter Shikari have been forced to postpone the final dates after a reaction to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe. Beginning with a pre-tour-tour, the band started off their 2021 shows confidently; 2 nights at Glasgow’s QMU set the stage before heading off to the likes of Exeter and Bexhill. The already postponed official tour then kicked into gear with a night at London’s Alexandra Palace on December 4th (going well so far). The following weeks went off without a hitch until, unbeknownst to them, last Friday’s show at Southampton’s O2 Guildhall became the last of the tour. Yesterday, (19th December) Enter Shikari confirmed the cancellation of the final 3 shows of the UK leg of the tour. Today, (20th December) the band confirm the cancellation and postponement of a handful of EU shows.
The band’s frontman, Rou Reynolds explained the difficult situation of cancelling the UK in a statement on Twitter, “absolutely gutted. with the speed that cases are rising nationally, and with one case now in our touring party, that’s us out. this was a horrible decision to have to make but safety of our crew and our audience will always come first.”. See below the full extent of the cancelled UK shows.
MIDDLESBROUGH & NOTTINGHAM.
We’re very sorry, but an important statement about tonight, tomorrow & Tuesday.
After such an incredible tour, this was not how we wanted it to end. but with things how they are, it would not be right to continue.
Thank you.
Rou, Rory, Rob & Chris pic.twitter.com/x9h87FeFTR— ENTER SHIKARI (@ENTERSHIKARI) December 19, 2021
After a month off, the band were then set to take the tour to Europe. Beginning January 28th, the tour would see the band spend the majority of their time in Germany; but also included shows in Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. But as the story goes, these plans have been thwarted by COVID-19. Once again taking to Twitter to calm fans, Reynolds explained, “Following the postponement of the remaining three U.K. tour dates yesterday, we have unfortunately been forced to cancel the German & Swiss dates for the forthcoming Jan / Feb 2022 European tour, and postpone Netherlands & Belgium,”.
Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium. A message for you about the January / February 2022 shows. pic.twitter.com/dAqtvJyrTu
— ENTER SHIKARI (@ENTERSHIKARI) December 20, 2021
Already, it has been arranged that the Antwerp gig will take place on June 26, while the Amsterdam date has been moved to July 26. So far, no plans have been made in regard to the list of upcoming festival slots. Most touring parties are still agreeing to leave thinking about summer 2022 for at least another few months.
If you have been affected by these cancellations, fortunately, Reynolds has been hard at work with a book titled ‘A Treatise on Possibility’, and an accompanying mini-documentaries ‘A Film on Possibility’, that will explore the themes of the book and how they relate to tracks from the album. Watch the first episode of 4, below.
