Changes: Kings Of Leon, Lana Del Rey, ‘Jabberwocky,’ Rick Springfield

It probably should come as no surprise Kings Of Leon has canceled more shows on its “Mechanical Bull Tour.” Band members were returning to their hotel following an Aug. 9 gig at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass., when a pedestrian stepped in front of the tour bus.  The sudden stop resulted in broken ribs for drummer Nathan Followill.

At first the band only nixed its Aug. 10 show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.  However, broken ribs are nothing to trifle with and even the most optimistic fans knew more changes were inevitable.

Now the band has cleared its calendar through Aug. 26 and will resume the tour when it plays the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., Aug. 28.  Canceled are shows scheduled for Wantagh, N.Y. (Aug. 13), Bristow, Va. (Aug. 15), Bethel, N.Y. (Aug. 16), Darien Center, N.Y. (Aug. 19), Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Aug. 20), Cincinnati, Ohio (Aug. 22), Noblesville, Ind. (Aug. 23) and Gilford, N.H. (Aug. 26).

But it takes more than a few broken ribs to keep Kings Of Leon from missing an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”  While Nathan Followill recuperates at a hospital, KOL will perform its new single, “Family Tree,” tonight with The Roots’ ?uestlove sitting in for the fallen drummer.

Meanwhile, Nathan Followill posted an unlisted video on the band’s YouTube channel.  Click here to see it.

Those of you keeping track of tour dates with the home edition of Pollstar will want to remove Lana Del Rey’s Aug. 20 appearance in Tel Aviv.  The singer was just one of several acts scheduled to play Israel this summer.  That is, before the conflict between the country and Hamas erupted. 

Neither bodily injury or bombs and missiles are forcing Rick Springfield to cancel his October tour of Australia.  Instead, Springfield bowed out of the trip so he could appear in a film with Meryl Streep that is to be directed by Jonathan Demme.

 “Ricki And The Flash” is about an aging rock star trying to reconnect with her kids, according to IMDB.  The film stars Streep along with Kevin Kline, Marnie Gummer, Ben Platt and Springfield.

The onetime “Dr. Drake” announced the change of plans via a Facebook posting.

“So sorry to have to cancel the Australian gigs and for all the inconvenience to those who made travel plans etc around the shows, as well.  But this movie with Meryl Streep is a great opportunity and I will make it up to anyone who is bummed out.  Dinner perhaps?  A movie? A little cuddling after?  Come on! Honestly if Meryl Streep and Jonathan Demme had asked me to wash their cars I would have cancelled my Hawaiian vacation and bought my own soap and bucket.”

London won’t get its Jabberwocky this summer.  The Aug. 15-16 festival presented by All Tomorrows Parties was to take place at the Excel Centre and feature Neutral Milk Hotel, James Blake, The Growlers, Deafhaven and others.  The event has been canceled due to poor ticket sales.  ATP’s Barry Hogan explained it all in a post on the festival’s website.

“We have put everything into promoting Jabberwocky, and despite healthy ticket sales; all our efforts could not take those sales to the point that we needed to finally stage the event. Over the past month and all the way up  until this moment we have tried every possible course of action to follow through in delivering Jabberwocky to you, but the position we unfortunately find ourselves in as a result of a succession of events that have lost money in an increasingly aggressive festival market, means we are no longer able to do so.

“In the past ATP has weathered losses such as this and gone on with the show, taking huge direct financial blows as an independent company.  But on this occasion, with an event of this scale and the high production costs that come with it – if we had gone ahead; it would have 100% been the end of ATP.  We do not take this decision lightly and it was the hardest we’ve ever had to make.”