The bandmates of legendary rock band The B-52s were forced to cancel their latest concert just minutes before a tornado hit the venue.
Videos by Suggest
The bandmates announced on social media that they would not be performing at the Retro C Trop Music Festival in Tillology, France, due to weather conditions. However, within minutes of the band’s cancellation, a storm that produced a tornado hit. The storm damaged the venue and destroyed some of the band’s gear.
The festival organizers later revealed that the event was canceled on its final day due to storm damage.
“It is with great regret that we are forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for Sunday, June 28,” the announcement reads, translated from French. “Due to a tornado that occurred late last night and destroyed all public reception facilities. The safety of the public, artists, teams, and all stakeholders remains our top priority. Given the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site, this decision has been imposed as the sole responsible.”
Those who were set to perform on the festival’s final day included Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Europe.
In a Facebook post, the bandmates apologized to fans set to attend their canceled performance.
“We are so sorry to everyone who came out to Chateau de Tilloloy yesterday,” the post reads. “The storm made it impossible to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone on site had to come first. A huge thank you to our touring crew for their work and care in keeping everyone as safe as possible throughout an incredibly dangerous situation. We hope everyone got home safely.”
The B-52s Frontman Slams Festival Promoter For Weather Issues
Meanwhile, frontman of The B-52s, Fred Schneider, slammed the festival’s promoter for the situation, which he called a “total disaster.”
“The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival,” he stated on Facebook. “First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform. Luckily, our tour manager said to hold back 10 minutes because it’s not safe, and we have to see what is going on with the storm.”
Schneider then described the storm as having “world wind hurricane force, and heavy rain.”
“Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter,” he continued. “The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.”
The singer said the band felt terrible for fans who waited all day to endure the storm.
“Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed,” he pointed out. “Clawdia our mascot tumbled off stage when the sides and back curtain of the stage blew off.”
Schneider also shared photos of the band’s equipment that was damaged in the storm.
He did note that “silver lining” was that the guitars were not destroyed, despite being soaked. There is other equipment that has not yet been recovered. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident.