Update: The Black Keys Scrap Fall North American Tour Dates
Updating a story first posted here yesterday (May 25), the Black Keys have canceled their fall North American arena tour without explanation, although low ticket sales appear to have factored into the decision. Planned in support the band’s latest album, Ohio Players, the trek was due to begin Sept. 17 in Tulsa, Ok., and wrap Nov. 12 in Detroit.
Before individual listings began disappearing from Ticketmaster on Friday, thousands of seats were still available for many shows on the tour. Refunds will be automatically processed, per updated language on the show pages. The only other detail provided was that “unfortunately, the event organizer has had to cancel this event.”
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Today, the Akron, Oh.-reared duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney aimed to put a more positive spin on the developments in a series of X posts, including a reminder that both members are “alive and well.”
“We have decided to make some changes to the North American leg of the International Players Tour that will enable us to offer a similarly exciting, intimate experience for both fans and the band, and will be announcing a revised set of dates shortly,” they wrote. “Everyone who had purchased tickets and/or VIP to the initial tour dates will be fully refunded, and, when the new plans are announced, will be the first to be able to buy tickets. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for the surprise change. We’re pretty sure everyone is going to be excited when you see what we have in mind though, and look forward to seeing everyone soon.”
The Keys have only one show still listed on their website for now: a July 6 appearance at the NASCAR Street Race in Chicago. The group performed earlier this week on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice and just wrapped a two-week European tour on May 15 at the 20,000-capacity Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Ohio Players debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 upon its release on April 5, the Keys’ lowest mark since their 2006 effort Magic Potion topped out at No. 95. The group has since tallied two albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of 500,000 copies, while two other albums have been certified double platinum for U.S. shipments of two million units.
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