Organisers behind a concert featuring American rappers originally set to take place in Greater Manchester this weekend have apologised after ticketholders shared their confusion over whether the event would actually be taking place. The show, headlined by New York rapper Jay Critch, was originally due to be held at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Stretford, Trafford on Friday (August 14) evening. Organised by Manchester producer Legendarykeyzz, who has previously worked with artists including Soulja Boy and DJ Khaled, the event was billed as an 'unmissable live show'.
Date change causes confusion
The 'Manchester takeover' show also had acts including Yungdred, Smokepurpp and Richiewess as part of the 'explosive line-up of UK and US heavyweights'. Tickets for the event were available on the Fatsoma platform for £20 and £30 each, but the date was later changed for the show instead listing it for Saturday (August 8) instead.
A spokesperson for Bowlers Exhibition Centre has now told the Manchester Evening News the event was never booked for the rescheduled date of August 8, whilst this Friday's show was only 'provisionally' booked and had been 'subject to contract and fees being paid', which they said 'didn't materialise' in the end. Venue bosses said they were informed that promoters were unable to 'continue with the booking' for the original show and said they will not be hosting the event later this week.
Ticket holder left in the dark
One customer, who asked to be referred to as Keith in Shrewsbury, said he had booked two tickets to the original show for his teenage son and said he has been left in the dark over the event's status having seen that the August 14 date had since changed online to August 8. “My disappointment is really focused on my 17-year-old son,” Keith said. “He's a big fan, particularly of Smokepurpp. He's a Miami-based rapper and has been wanting to see him for a long time. We've been to the Victoria Warehouse to see Atlanta rappers Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson, and these gigs are always high-energy moshpit gigs.
"I had the Premier Inn booked for the night, which due to my booking I can't now refund. My real concern is that anyone who's booked these tickets may not be aware this event is not happening when it was supposed to. I am going to pursue it further for a full refund of the tickets." Keith said he reached out to Bowlers directly after the date change to find out more details where he claimed he was also told by a member of staff that the event had not taken place on Saturday at the venue and was not due to take place later this week either.
New date and venue confirmed
Speaking to the M.E.N today, producer Legendarykeyzz apologised for the confusion but said the 'mix-up' had occured due to illness and production conflicts. He confirmed the event will now be taking place on September 15 at Manchester nightclub MN1, on Whitworth Street West. He added the online ticket listing is in the process of being updated.
"It has been moved to September now," he said. "It was originally set to take place at Bowlers, but this was later moved and changed to a 'top secret location' on the poster, but not on the ticket listing. We are in the process of letting people know the new date and location and will share more information on Instagram. We're sorry for the mix-up, I can assure everyone it is not a scam." The producer said that all previously advertised artists will be attending the September 15 show and ticketholders unable to attend the new date can reach out directly to him where he will help assist with refunds.
