Joan Jett and The B-52s among acts cancelled as tornado ravages French festival
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The B-52s found their sets at Festival Rétro C Trop cancelled amid a “total disaster” after a tornado ravaged the French festival.
The festival, held at the Château de Tilloloy in France, was also set to feature Europe, Ultra Vomit, New Model Army, and Fools Gold on June 28th, before the decision was made to cancel the entire day.
On June 27th, the B-52s narrowly avoided catastrophe as the weather conditions “destroyed our equipment”.
The B-52s took to Facebook to lament the bad news, sharing, “We are so sorry to everyone who came out to Chateau de Tilloloy yesterday. The storm made it impossible to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone on site had to come first.”
Their statement went on, “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.”
From there, the festival announced the cancellation of the final day too: “It is with great regret that we have been forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for this Sunday, June 28, due to a tornado that struck late yesterday evening and destroyed all the public facilities.”
It added, “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.”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts shared this statement, adding, “We are disappointed to not be playing Retro C Trop in Tilloloy, France today, but of course safety comes first.”
The B-52s frontman, Fred Schneider, also opened up about the lead-up to the cancellation, which was a “total disaster”, recounting, “The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival.”
He added that it was through the insistence of their tour manager, Alice Martin, for advising that the band “hold back 10 minutes” before taking to the stage.
Despite the lightning, “the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform.”
Things quickly took a turn for the worse: “Then it was like a whirlwind 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.”
The unprecedented weather is causing great havoc for festivals across the globe: Katy Perry’s headlining appearance at Belgium’s Werchter Boutique festival was also cancelled over the weekend, while Barcelona’s Primavera Sound faced mass set cancellations due to stormy conditions.
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