Country singer Jason Isbell’s performance at Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Wednesday was canceled after the venue said a ''timing issue'' prevented it from complying with the singer’s health and safety requests.
Isbell had previously released a statement via his label, Southeastern Records, that provided ''updated health and safety requirements'' from Isbell and The 400 Unit band that he was set to perform with, including a note that all attendees must be fully vaccinated and show proof of their vaccination, or be willing to take a test for COVID-19 within 72 hours of attending the show and providing the results to security.
Although Southeastern Records tweeted that ''the venue was not willing to comply with the band's updated Health and Safety standards,'' the venue released a statement blaming ''a timing issue'' for the cancellation.
''The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion fully supports and commends Jason Isbell and his team for their commitment to the health of their fans, crew, band and venue staff,'' the statement reads. ''We are all on the same page here and we agree with what Jason Isbell would like to implement, but there is a timing issue. To implement a major change in policy such as what is requested will take more time than we have."
The statement adds, ''The Pavilion has always — and will always — view the health and safety of those at our venue at the highest priority. We will continue to look to our local and national health officials for the best guidance as we continue to evolve our policies and procedures to celebrate our return back to live.''
Isbell responded to the statement in a tweet, calling it ''false,'' and saying that ''Live Nation, the promoter, was on board but the venue owner flat-out refused to even attempt to implement the policy.''
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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