MCR/Download Fest
[Photo via Aranxa Esteve/Unsplash]

Download Festival sparks backlash after attributing cancellation to MCR

As the news of coronavirus cancelations continues to spread, one that was particularly impactful was My Chemical Romance‘s cancelation of their upcoming Download Festival and New Zealand appearances. The first of the gigs would have been just MCR’s second show since their return. 

Now, My Chemical Romance fans are angered at the way Download Festival’s statement reads, and are letting it be known. Ray Toro chimed in to address the issue.

Read More: My Chemical Romance postpone AU, NZ tour dates over coronavirus

On March 12, MCR officially announced that they were postponing their AUS/NZ dates due to coronavirus. 

To our dearest friends—

“It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to postpone our performance in Australia and New Zealand. We felt this was the right decision for our fans, our band, our crew, and our families given the current global situation. We apologize to our fans, but please know that we didn’t come to this decision lightly. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to being with you all again as soon as we can. In the meantime, please be good to each other. My Chemical Romance.

 

Download Festival Australia also shared the band’s statement to their site, writing, “It is with intense disappointment that we announce that My Chemical Romance will not be coming to Australia to play Download.”

The festival then went on to say with 8 days remaining until the event, they’ll be unable to secure a new headliner and will be canceling. You can read their full statement below.

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Given that this announcement has come barely 8 days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival.

As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.

The Download team has been working around the clock to create an unforgettable experience for heavy music fans and we are devastated not be able to deliver this show to Australian Downloaders as planned.

We are currently working with both My Chemical Romance and Deftones to schedule separate headline shows in Australia in 2020 and will update you all as soon as we have these.

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We are also working with a number of artists who have official Download side shows scheduled, to add headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne next week, stay tuned for these dates.

All ticket purchasers to the Download Melbourne and Sydney 2020 events will receive a full refund including booking and payment processing fees.

We appreciate that the decision to cancel Download Australia will cause huge disappointment and may create major difficulty for ticket holders, for which we sincerely apologise.

Moshtix will contact account holders on Monday 16th March via email with information regarding the refund process. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For any questions relating to your Download ticket purchase, please contact Moshtix directly https://tixsupport.moshtix.com.au/

So all of that is old news, yesterday’s news. But given enough time, MCR fans are a bit peeved regarding the wording of Download Festival’s statement. Many think that Download is “throwing shade” at My Chemical Romance for only giving them eight days. Others believe that the festival should have been canceled anyway for the health and safety of everyone involved and that MCR had enough foresight to pull out. Check out some reactions below. 

https://twitter.com/amandakshrum/status/1238448074025881602

 

Seeing all of these reactions, MCR lead guitarist Ray Toro addressed the issue with his own statement. Toro was replying to the Deftones post about Download, that also seemed to blame My Chemical Romance.

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Toro’s tweet was a screenshot of an article discussing how Australia’s Prime Minister would ban all gatherings greater than 500 people. Toro added the below statement.

Everyone knew this was coming. To put on a show at this time would have been negligent of ALL of us. Sad some of us couldn’t see that…

Many of those replying to Toro’s tweet are in agreement.

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After all of the cancelation announcements, Frank Iero tweeted his own message, telling everyone to be safe and take care of themselves. But, to remember to be kind as well.

i’m so saddened by all of these cancellations & i truly feel for everyone effected by this pandemic. it’s a crazy world out there frends, wash your hands and even though we must keep our distance please don’t forget to be kind. stay safe but keep your wits. keep the faith xofrnk

 

More on My Chemical Romance

As it currently stands, MCR will now return to the stage in the U.K. in June. This will mark the second time since the Shrine return show in Los Angeles in December. A full list of all of their 2020 tour dates are below with the postponed gigs in bold.

Dates: 

03/20 – Melbourne, AU @ Melbourne Showgrounds (Download Melbourne)*POSTPONED*
03/21 – Sydney, AU @ Parramatta Park (Download Sydney)*POSTPONED*
03/25 – Western Springs, NZ @ The Outer Fields at Western Springs*POSTPONED*
03/28 – Osaka, JP @ INTEX Osaka *POSTPONED*
03/29 – Download Japan @ Makuhari Messe Event Hall *POSTPONED*

06/16 – Cornwall, UK @ Eden Project
06/18 – Milton Keynes, UK @Stadium MK (SOLD OUT)
06/20 – Milton Keynes, UK @ Stadium MK (SOLD OUT)
06/21 – Milton Keynes, UK @ Stadium MK (SOLD OUT)
06/23 – Dublin, IE @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham
07/01 – Sopron, HU @ Volt Festival
07/03 – Prague, CZ @ Prague Rocks
07/04 – Bologna, IT @ Sonic Park Fest
07/06 – Bonn, DE @ KUNST!RASEN (SOLD OUT)
07/07 – Bonn, DE @ KUNST!RASEN
07/11 – Moscow, RU @ Gorky Park
07/13 – St. Petersburg, RU @ Ice Palace

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09/09 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena (SOLD OUT)
09/11 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center (SOLD OUT)
09/12 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
09/14 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena (SOLD OUT)
09/15 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden (SOLD OUT)
09/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center (SOLD OUT)
09/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center (SOLD OUT)
09/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown
09/22 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center (SOLD OUT)
09/23 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center (SOLD OUT)
09/26 – Sunrise, FL @ BB&T Center (SOLD OUT)
09/29 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center (SOLD OUT)
09/30 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center (SOLD OUT)

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10/02 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center (SOLD OUT)
10/04 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome (SOLD OUT)
10/06 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena (SOLD OUT)
10/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum (SOLD OUT)
10/10 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
10/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena (SOLD OUT)
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum (SOLD OUT)
10/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum (SOLD OUT)
10/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum (SOLD OUT)

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