The B-52s have hit out at a French promoter who cancelled their festival set with just minutes to go, despite allegedly knowing a violent storm was on its way.
The veteran pop band were due to appear at the C Trop festival but just minutes before they were set to step onstage, the entire final day of the event was cancelled.
“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, due to a tornado that occurred late last night and destroyed all public reception facilities,” the organisers announced on Facebook, citing “the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site”.
However, the B-52s were far from happy. Posting on Facebook, the band’s singer Fred Schneider described the situation as a “total disaster”.
“The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival,” he wrote. “First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform.”
Schneider praised his tour manager who advised the band to wait 10 minutes. A wise move, it turned out. “Then it was like a world wind hurricane force and heavy rain. Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter. The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.”
“We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform,” he continued. “And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn’t safe to stay out and make our way to the stage, there was lightning striking the band before our set.”
“We could’ve been stuck on stage if we didn’t hold for those 10 minutes. Our sound man Frank feared for his life. It was that dangerous. We were worried about the crew the entire time.”
“Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.”
The promoter has yet to respond to the band’s post.
France, like most of Western Europe, had been suffering extreme temperatures of over 40 degrees. Often heatwaves are brought to a conclusion by violent thunderstorms and. going forward, preparation for these sorts of occurrences should really be among the contingency plans for festival promoters across Europe...
