Glastonbury headliner SZA pulls out of Fuji Rock
SZA, who is set to headline Glastonbury Festival in June, has withdrawn from a scheduled performance at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
The American singer-songwriter was signed up to grace the stage at Naeba Ski Resort on July 26th, but with less than two months to go, they now need to find another headliner. Kraftwerk and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are still set to headline the Japanese event on July 27th and 28th respectively.
Other acts who will be performing in Japan include Beth Gibbons, Peggy Gou, King Krule, The Last Dinner Party, Turnstile, Fontaines D.C., Kim Gordon, Raye and Ride. At this stage, no replacement has been announced for SZA.
In a statement, Fuji Rock said of SZA’s withdrawal: “SZA has cancelled their performance at Fuji Rock Festival scheduled for Friday July 26th. We deeply apologize to those who were looking forward to the performance. Ticket refunds will not be made for this cancellation. We deeply regret this situation and hope for your continued support of Fuji Rock Festival ’24.”
As it stands, SZA remains scheduled to fulfil the rest of her summer obligations which remains listed on her website. Her next performance will be headlining Primavera Sound in Barcelona on June 1st, with more dates lined up in Paris, Porto, New York and London in June before she commences the Pyramid Stage on Worthy Farm. SZA is yet to comment on the reason for no longer appearing at Fuji Rock.
SZA is set to be closing act of Glastonbury on June 30th, a concert which will mark her first ever appearance at the Somerset festival. Meanwhile, fellow headliner Dua Lipa has only performed at Glastonbury once before when she commenced the John Peel tent in 2017. In contrast, Coldplay first played the iconic event in 1999, and their 2024 appearance will mark their fourth headline slot.
In other Glastonbury news, they recently unveiled plans to celebrate the life of pioneering BBC Radio 1 broadcaster Annie Nightingale, who passed away earlier this year aged 83. On June 27th, they will be honouring Nightingale with a host of acts performing at The Glade during the afternoon before the party rolls over onto the BBC Introducing Stage at the evening.
Following news of the DJ’s passing, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis shared a poignant tribute to the late maverick and labelled her as “an inspiration to so many women in music, broadcasting and beyond and just a lovely human being.”
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