Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign have called off their next round of VULTURES listening sessions. U.S. arenas, which were slated to host the events in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. throughout April, pulled the plug just days after they were announced. Soon after, a representative for Ye confirmed to Variety that the shows will not go ahead as previously planned.
Ye himself has not issued a statement regarding the shows’ cancellations, and he has since deactivated his Instagram account. Despite this, tickets had already been sold for several shows, while others had not yet gone on sale. Thankfull who did purchase tickets are now receiving refunds, per the outlet.
The shows’ cancellations follow the criticism that Ye and Ty Dolla $ign received for not performing live during their headlining set at Rolling Loud in Inglewood, California, earlier this month. Failing to stay true to their words, the duo appeared on stage in their now-signature masks while the album played for an hour and did not reveal new material. Another big critique is that for the songs they did play, instead of a traditional performance they for the most part just stood on stage as the music played. This is a tactic Ye has used for previous listening parties for both Vultures Vol.1 and Donda 1 and 2 but for a venue such as rolling loud fans expected a true performance.
The now-canceled shows were formally titled the VULTURES 1 & 2 Listening Experience. VULTURES 2 was previously expected to be released on March 8, but after several delays, it’s now unclear exactly when the album will be released.
While Ye and Ty Dolla $ign have cancelled their U.S. listening sessions, it seems like the duo’s previously announced event at the Step Pyramid of Djoser in the desert of Saqqara, Egypt, is still going ahead on April 20, as tickets are still available for purchase via Ticketmaster.
