Morrissey cancels Las Vegas residency due to 'unforeseen logistical problems'

By now it is a familiar pattern: Morrissey cancels shows. This time it hits the fans who were planning to travel to Las Vegas next week for his four night residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. The concerts on August 14, 15, 18 and 19 are not going ahead, as ticket holders were informed last Friday via email by promoter AEG. The message stated that the residency could not take place due to "unforeseen logistical issues." The first two nights had sold out, meaning that countless fans are now out not only the cost of their tickets but also travel expenses and hotel bookings.

Notably, Morrissey's official website still lists the concerts, while the Wynn has already removed the shows from its entertainment page and Ticketmaster states that the event has been cancelled by the organizer. What exactly the logistical problems are remains unclear. Morrissey was performing on stage in Portugal as recently as August 1, barely two weeks before the planned opening night in Las Vegas.

The cancellation fits into a long string of scrapped and postponed concerts. This year alone he has pulled shows in St. Petersburg (Florida), San Diego, St. Louis and Atlanta, with illness cited as the reason in several cases. Earlier this year he cancelled California concerts due to "an adverse reaction to a prescribed medication," and in March he called off a performance in Valencia because of sleep deprivation, a justification that the Spanish Embassy in the United Kingdom publicly mocked. Buying a ticket to a Morrissey show has therefore increasingly become a gamble.

The former Smiths frontman released his fourteenth solo album "Make Up Is A Lie" in March through Sire Records. Around the same time he criticized the BBC for refusing to play his single "Notre Dame" despite it reaching number six on the Official Singles Sales Chart. He also launched a fresh attack on former bandmate Johnny Marr, accusing him of dividing The Smiths' audience into "factions" in connection with an upcoming BBC documentary.

For Dutch music fans there is a direct link: Morrissey is scheduled to play 013 Poppodium in Tilburg on December 28, as part of a broader European touring schedule that also includes shows in Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Paris and Brussels. Whether that date will actually go ahead is uncertain given the singer's current reputation. His remaining American tour dates, including an appearance at Riot Fest in Chicago on September 19 where he plays before Tool, are still on the schedule for now.