Slipknot posted on their online platforms to inform fans on Wednesday 13th May, with a statement reading “Unfortunately Slipknot’s summer 2020 touring, including the North American Knotfest Roadshow, Knotfest UK and Knotfest at Sea, will not be happening.” The announcement was expected by ticket-holders given the current circumstances regarding Covid-19.

The post continues, “The band looks forward to performing for its fans again, and will do so when everyone’s safety can be assured.” It finished with information about ticket refunds, for which fans will receive an email from their point of purchase soon.

pic.twitter.com/LqxwAd1hEj

— Slipknot (@slipknot) May 13, 2020

Knotfest was created by Slipknot in 2012 and has been held in numerous countries including the United States, Japan, and Mexico. 2020 was to be the festival’s first year in the UK, held at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 22nd August. Although the full lineup had not yet been announced, previous years have seen the likes of Deftones, Lamb of God, and Machine Head take to the stage.

#KnotfestUK is coming to The National Bowl in Milton Keynes for the first time ever on 22 August featuring @Slipknot and more to be announced. Tickets are on-sale NOW: https://t.co/URIo5RXrct pic.twitter.com/XgLTzSYxjY

— Knotfest UK (@knotfestuk) January 16, 2020

‘We Are Not Your Kind’ is the band’s sixth studio album, released in 2019, and was the reason behind this year’s tour. There was even a 20-minute short film made in promotion of both the album and tour, directed by percussionist and backing vocalist Shawn Crahan, stage name CLOWN. The album went number 1 in the UK as well as the US, Australia, and more.

Fortunately, both Knotfest Japan and Knotfest At Sea have been rescheduled for later dates – Japan’s shows will now take place in January 2021, while the latter is yet to be announced. Frontman Corey Taylor discussed the current situation of live music with NME, saying that future shows will likely be in smaller venues as there may be “a sense of paranoia for a while” around attending large gatherings or events.

The band wrote a statement which was posted on all their platforms; they explained “Things are changing daily and we want to keep our fans, crew members and band safe,” adding, “Thank you for your patience, we will get through this together and look forward to seeing you all very soon.” Ticket-holders will be able to receive information regarding refunds or other options from the point of purchase.

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GN’R Fam: Sadly, the upcoming European tour will not be happening. Things are changing daily and we want to keep our fans, crew members and band safe. We are working hard with our promoters, venues and cities/countries on next steps and will make further announcements as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience, we will get through this together and look forward to seeing you all very soon…

A post shared by Guns N’ Roses (@gunsnroses) on May 11, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

The cancellation does not come as a surprise after the Central and South American leg was cut short early on. On 14th March, as part of the Vive Latino Festival, Guns N’ Roses played in Mexico City, and two days later it was announced that the remaining dates had been postponed until later this year. Currently it is unclear as to whether the European dates originally scheduled throughout May and June will be rescheduled. In July, when the North American leg is set to begin, the situation will be reassessed.

Guns N’ Roses had shows planned in venues and cities around the UK and Europe, including London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Scotland’s Glasgow Green, and Dublin’s Marlay park. Thousands were to attend, singing along to old hits and, perhaps, new music.

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2020 we’re coming for ya

A post shared by Guns N’ Roses (@gunsnroses) on Dec 30, 2019 at 1:03pm PST

There have been multiple hints at new music from the band over the past few years – guitarist Richard Fortus mentioned to Forbes in early 2020 “I hope that we have new music out this coming year,” while Susa Holmes McKagan, wife of Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, revealed that “Guns N’ Roses have been working fastidiously on some killer new stuff.”

Find the full list of affected European dates below.

20/05/2020 – Passeio Martimo De Alges – Lisbon, Portugal
23/05 – Estadio Benito Villamarin – Seville, Spain
26/05 – Olympiastadion – Munich, Germany
29/05 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London, UK
30/05 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London, UK
2/06 – Volksparkstadion – Hamburg, Germany
6/06 – Sweden Rock Festival – Solvesborg, Sweden
9/06 – Ernst Happel Stadium – Vienna, Austria
12/06 – Firenze Rocks – Firenze, Italy
14/06 – Stade de Suisse – Berne, Switzerland
17/06 – PGE Narodowy – Warsaw, Poland
19/06 – Letnany Airport – Prague, Czech Republic
21/06 – Pinkpopm – Landgraaf, Netherlands
25/06 – Glasgow Green – Glasgow, UK
27/06 – Marlay Park – Dublin, Ireland

Horan had planned to tour his latest album ‘Heartbreak Weather’ from 20th April all the way through to 10th December, but found it ineffective to miss out on most of the dates. In a statement to fans, he said “This is a difficult decision, but the well-being of my fans and touring family is always my priority,” continuing, “I look forward to being able to bring new music and a new tour to all of my fans around the world in 2021″.

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This was a difficult decision, but the well-being of my fans and touring family is always my top priority . Please stay safe everyone x

A post shared by Niall Horan (@niallhoran) on Apr 3, 2020 at 10:01am PDT

The tour had dates in the UK, Europe and America with support acts including Lewis Capaldi and Maisie Peters. For the time being, all tickets will be refunded and no dates will be decided until the pandemic has been controlled. ‘Heartbreak Weather’ is Horan’s second solo album after leaving boyband One Direction, debuting at number 1 on both the UK and Irish Albums Charts with an amazing reception from fans. It was prefaced by singles ‘Nice To Meet Ya’, ‘No Judgement’ and ‘Lay A Little Love On Me’.

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Thanks for an amazing response to my new album heartbreak weather . It’s obviously a very strange time in the world right now but I hope that in the crazy time my music is bringing you something nice and everyone is safe in their homes whilst doing so.. love you all . Keep buying and streaming

A post shared by Niall Horan (@niallhoran) on Mar 17, 2020 at 10:38am PDT

During this uncertain time, Horan has become one of many artists to connect with fans via livestream, giving virtual concerts on Instagram. He previously followed Chris Martin by running a livestream in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Citizen for their ‘Together At Home’ campaign. This week, he is set to play on Thursday 9th April at 7:00pm on his Instagram page and 2FM.

Niall Horan began his career when he auditioned for The X Factor and was put into the band One Direction, which eventually broke up in 2016. Horan then signed a record deal with Capitol Records and released music as a solo artist. His debut album ‘Flicker’ came out in 2017 and debuted at number 1 in Ireland and the US, charting within the top three in the UK. ‘Heartbreak Weather’ will be his second solo album.

Aplin was in the midst of the tour when Covid-19 broke out in the UK. She posted on 13th March with a statement that read “I’m so sorry to do this but my team and I have made the difficult decision to reschedule the remaining dates of my UK tour,” and went on to explain “I personally feel it would be irresponsible of me to bring crowds together at this time.”

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* UK TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT* Hey everyone. Im so sorry to do this but my team and I have made the difficult decision to reschedule the remaining dates of my UK tour. This is the last thing I want to do and I haven’t taken this decision lightly. I personally feel it would be irresponsible of me to bring crowds together at this time. The health of my band and crew, and my fans is my number 1 priority, along with my own health concerns for myself and my family. I was loving this tour and I promise that the rescheduled dates will be amazing. All tickets purchased will remain valid for the rescheduled shows. Again, I am really sorry to do this. I just feel that it is the right decision at this time. I thank all my promoters, reps, venues and staff 13 Artists and my own band and crew for being so understanding at a time really difficult and uncertain for all of you. Please look after yourself and stay safe! Gabrielle xxx

A post shared by Gabrielle Aplin (@gabrielleaplin) on Mar 13, 2020 at 6:27am PDT

The singer-songwriter has already arranged dates for later in the year, and all tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled shows. She ended her announcement by asking fans to “stay safe”. Some fans were upset at the short notice cancellation of shows, but were ultimately understanding given the circumstances.

There has been no information regarding refunds should ticket-holders want them, but it is likely that they would need to get in touch with the company they purchased from. Many fans have also asked if they can still buy merchandise despite the cancellation of the original dates. Aplin expressed her gratitudes on Instagram, saying “this fills me with joy as we put so much effort into making sure this merch was human and earth friendly!”

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I have some left over merch from tour and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it as some of the tee’s have the now not happening dates on the back! Some of you kindly reached out asking if you can buy them to stop them going to waste. This fills me with joy as we put so much effort into making sure this merch was human and earth friendly! If you’d like one, you can pre-order now & they will be sent out on March 23rd. Thank you! (link in my stories)

A post shared by Gabrielle Aplin (@gabrielleaplin) on Mar 18, 2020 at 6:45am PDT

Although she cannot perform live, Aplin took part in Lewis Watson’s online festival along with other artists including Dodie, Nina Nesbitt, and Orla Gartland. She has also released stripped back versions of songs from her latest album ‘Dear Happy’. So far, reworked versions of both ‘Strange’ and ‘My Mistake’ have been released, as well as the live versions of more songs on YouTube.

Aplin began her career posting cover videos on YouTube, but her popularity truly took off in 2012 when she recorded the John Lewis Christmas advert, covering ‘The Power of Love’ originally by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Her album ‘Dear Happy’ came out in January 2020 and was named Radio 2’s ‘Album of the Week’, also reaching number 24 on the UK Albums Chart.

At the time of writing, the ‘Dear Happy’ European tour dates are still in place, but it is highly likely that they will be cancelled imminently, as they are planned to take place in April. The new dates for the UK are available now and can be found below. Tickets can be purchased from the official website.

11/10/2020 – Y Plas – Cardiff, UK
13/10 – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
14/10 – SWX – Bristol, UK
15/10 – Concorde 2 – Brighton, UK
16/10 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – London, UK

IT’S TIME!! Our #BeatAgainTour is coming your way this Nov/Dec. We can’t wait to be reunited with you all!

Register for pre-sale access before Tues 18th 3pm: https://t.co/4Whsl8dlB8
General sale starts Fri 21st at 9am! pic.twitter.com/zuwYfaa5N5

— JLS (@JLSOfficial) February 12, 2020

This year marks seven years since the group split in 2013. When speaking about their return, the members agreed that “this is the right time for us to get back on stage and perform in front of our loyal fans”. The fans are most certainly loyal, given the reactions on social media.

But while many are still getting over this initial stage of excitement, some may be wondering which songs they’ll hear if they buy tickets. As is typical of reunion tours, there is no talk of new music, so it can be assumed that all of the fan favourites will be included, complete with dance routines.

So far, there are 15 tour dates, kicking off in Dublin on 12th November and closing in Birmingham on 28th December. Titled ‘Beat Again’ after hit song of 2009, tour tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday 21st February on TicketMaster, but fans can register for early access pre-sale.