Ch… Ch… Ch… Changes – 4/19

King Sunny Ade Tour Flushed

The first indication of tour problems for King Sunny Ade emerged last week when the artist began canceling individual dates. The world music musician’s problems began when two members of his African Beats band – talking drummer Gabriel Ayanniyi and percussionist Omo Olope – died in a car crash during the last week of March. Although two replacements were found, the U.S. Embassy didn’t green-light the necessary paperwork in time to allow the new band members into the country.

According to a statement released by the artist’s representative, the North American April / May tour has been canceled “until such a time as King Sunny Ade and his group have sufficiently regrouped and are ready to face the rigors of an international tour again.”

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the band and the families of the deceased,” the rep said in the statement. “On behalf of the artist and his band, we extend our apologies to all who will be disappointed by their inability to perform in North America this year.”

Click here for King Sunny Ade’s MySpace page.

Eagles/Chicks/Urban Nix D.C.

Fans in the Washington, D.C., area will have to look elsewhere for a chance to experience the Eagles/Dixie Chicks stadium tour. Citing that ol’ concert industry demon known as “scheduling conflicts,” Live Nation says the June 15 date scheduled for Nationals Park, which also included special guest Keith Urban, is no longer on the books.

Ticket and parking refunds are available at point of purchase. Fans who purchased their tickets and parking passes through Tickets.com and by phone will be automatically refunded beginning the week of May 3.

Balfor Loses, Gains Guitarist

The guitarist for Balfor has quit the group, citing an unspecified injury for leaving the Ukrainian black metal band.

Balfor recently released a statement announcing guitarist Agnarr had unexpectedly quit the band. Although the statement says a recent injury is the reason for the guitarist’s departure, no details regarding the mishap were offered.

But Balfor was quick in replacing him, tapping former Hell:On guitarist Dragon-T, who first appeared as an official band member over the weekend at the Metal Heads Mission Festival in Kiev.

Of course, the band issued the obligatory statement announcing the change.

“We are very sorry that this has happened to Agnarr. It’s a terrible thing when a musician is no longer able to play, and he is one of those musicians with a natural talent and a lot of experience. We hope that he’ll be able to overcome the effects of the injury and eventually return to playing. Balfor is certainly going to miss both his musicianship and his companionship.”

Click here for Balfor’s website.