Among the first to pull out were Tenacious D and Blindside, both of whom had European shows on the itinerary. The D were already in Europe and scheduled to head to Sweden when they abruptly decided to nix it all. A management source told VH1 the duo did not cancel out of security fears, but rather because they felt that “doing their thing” was inappropriate at such a serious time.

Lisa Marie Presley was due to hit Europe on a two-week promotional tour for her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, but backed out of those plans.

Matchbox twenty also culled their European concert plans, despite having sold out several gigs, including London’s Wembley Arena. Lead singer Rob Thomas said, “Our concern is not only for the safety of our band and our crew but, more importantly, for the well-being of our fans, whom we certainly do not want to put at risk just by coming out to see us play.

“As global citizens, not just as Americans, we also feel that it would be inappropriate to be doing gigs just as this conflict has begun. However, we are a touring band and our commitment to playing live for our fans remains as strong as ever. We promise to cross the Atlantic and do these shows as soon as possible.”

The band has already started rescheduling the postponed shows, with the first dates looking to start in September.

Although Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had yet to announce any firm dates for their long-awaited European tour, the band decided to cancel anyway after consulting with European promoters. Dates for the tour, which was supposed to start in the U.K. July 3, are expected to be rescheduled.

Meanwhile, Kelly Rowland has rescheduled her earlier canceled U.K. tour. The Destiny’s Child member was due to start in the U.K. April 13, but pulled out of the gigs due to fears of flying during wartime. Now, Rowland is set to pick up in September.

Shakira scrapped her plans to play Lebanon and Libya, but those countries are so close to the war zone that there would probably have been more raised eyebrows had she opted to go ahead. However, her European shows are still a go.

British band Turin Brakes, on the other hand, want to tour but are having trouble obtaining a visa for the States. Their bid was recently refused by the U.S. government and consequently, their tour has been put on hold.

According to the band’s Web site, “The U.S. authorities [did] not disclose the reason why, but we suspect it is something to do with the current climate and situation in the Middle East. Turin Brakes will persevere to get a visa and will hopefully play these gigs in the near future.

“We are sorry for any disappointment.”

While Senegal-native Youssou N’Dour didn’t have any trouble getting his visa to play in the States, he did have trouble with his own conscience over playing, period.

“It is my strong conviction that the responsibility for disarming Iraq should rest with the United Nations. As a matter of conscience I question the United States government’s apparent intention to commence war with Iraq,” N’Dour said.

“I believe that coming to America at this time would be perceived in many parts of the world – rightly or wrongly – as a support of this policy, and that, as a consequence, it is inappropriate to perform in the U.S. at this juncture.”

His seven-week tour was cancelled before war broke out, as a protest to what turned out to be the inevitable. However, N’Dour said he would like to “return to the U.S. in better times.”

The Wu-Tang Clan may be giving the biggest finger up to naysayers if they indeed embark on their tour of Israel, as they plan on doing in May. Member Cappadonna said in a statement, “As Americans and hip-hop artists, we want to show solidarity with the people of Israel.

“No one thinks that a Hebrew-speaking country has anything to do with hip-hop, but hip-hop is alive in Israel and we are going there to foster the new generations’ way of communicating.”

Initial tour plans include stops in the cities of Tel Aviv, Beersheva, Haifa, Eilat, and Jerusalem, although no dates have been announced.

Looking ahead to summer festival plans, when Europe sees its heaviest influx of touring artists, the decision to go or not to go isn’t so necessary yet. However, if the war continues through the summer months, it could mean big a lot of cancellations on the festival front.