UPDATE [5/28/15 11:50 am]: On behalf of the Portland Police Department, Sgt. Pete Simpson tells the Mercury that both the Entertainment Detail and the Gang Enforcement Team had no involvement. “Neither knew anything about a cancellation nor did they speak to Bossonova about cancelling,” he says. To clarify, at no point did the Bossanova suggest to the Mercury that the police requested they canceled the T-Pain show. We’re seeing if any pressure might have come from a city bureau or some other organization, although it should be repeated that it was Bossanova’s decision to cancel the show.
ORIGINAL POST: The T-Pain show scheduled to take place at the Bossanova Ballroom this Sunday isn’t happening.
Etix, the online support provider for Cascade Tickets, sent out this email (along with refund information) to ticket buyers earlier today:
We just received the following information from Bossanova Ballroom:
“Due to safety concerns in the Portland market the Bossanova Ballroom is canceling the T-Pain show this Sunday May 31st. We will look into rescheduling the event at a later date.”
Sunday’s show was also set to include an appearance from Portland songwriter/producer Natasha Kmeto. When asked for comment, Rob McCorkle, owner of the Bossanova, had this to say:
The only relevant issue is we cancelled the show due to safety concerns. The risk to our artists and our customers due to current happenings in the Portland area was not a risk we were willing to take. It cost us a lot of money to cancel the show, but in the end the safety of our artists and customers is the most important thing to us.
While Portland has been suffering a series of gang-related shootings lately, the specifics of the cancellation remain somewhat vague, although it’s clear the Bossanova made their decision primarily from a safety angle. (What that means, exactly, is uncertain.) The Mercury also has a voicemail into Portland police to see if they can provide any context. We’ll provide any more info if it becomes available.
In the meantime, sad T-Pain fans will just have to make do by watching his (pretty remarkable) Tiny Desk Concert again.