A handful of shows have been cancelled across Australia due to the ongoing bushfire crisis in the country.
Earlier this week, Cold Chisel’s show in Ruthergle, Victoria at the All Saints Estate on Tuesday had to be cancelled due to air quality on site. The EPA Victoria rated the air quality as “hazardous” due to bushfires in Albury, Wodonga, and surrounding areas. On Monday, they called-off Tuesday’s outside gig. The show’s promoter, Roundhouse Entertainment’s Michael Newton, said that while he was disappointed to cancel the show, he couldn’t ignore the unsafe conditions outside.
“Our first priority is the safety of patrons, staff and artists and with air quality on the site and in the surrounding areas now at a hazardous level, we have no other option but to cancel today’s show,” Newton said.
Cold Chisel, the rock group that just released a new record last month, is performing on their Blood Moon Tour 2020, which was dubbed as their first-ever outdoor summer tour.
The group isn’t alone, however, as the bushfire crisis led to the cancellation of numerous concerts across the south-eastern portion of Australia, which includes the Falls Festival in Lorne last month, along with Sydney Festival’s upcoming Opening Night. Amid the cancellations, various benefit concerts have popped up. Halsey performed an impromptu gig at The Forum in Melbourne to raise money for fire fighting efforts late last month, and TEG organized the Fire Fight Australia event at ANZ Stadium this February.
Multiple artists have also directly donated to the fire relief efforts across the country, including Taylor Swift, Pink, and Elton John.
Since September, more than 15 million acres across Australia have burned in one of the country’s worst fire seasons in history – more than eight times the area that burned in California in 2018, for comparison. The fires broke out amid a record-breaking heat wave and is the cause behind the deaths of at least 28 humans and over one billion animals.
Donations can be accepted for fire departments in Victora here and New South Wales here.
