Live Nation Cancels Roxette's 40th Anniversary Tour Across North America, Cites 'Increased Touring Costs'

The ’80s pop duo Roxette will no longer perform on their forthcoming 40th anniversary tour across North America.

The tour, featuring frontman and founder Per Gessle alongside the new singer and Swedish star Lena Philipsson, was set to kick-off on September 10 and run through October 9, making stops in cities along the way like Montreal, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Montreal. Tasylor Dayne was set to provide direct support, with Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets opening the show.

However, on Friday, the group took to social media to share that the trek would no longer move forward as planned.

“Due to logistics and hugely increased touring costs, Live Nation US has decided to postpone the Northamerican tour,” a statement from Roxette read. “Hope to see you some other time down the road. / team Rox.”

The following day, Gessle added more context, noting in a statement that the decision to cancel the tour falls entirely on Live Nation.

“Lena, I and the band are of course disappointed,” Gessle said. “We were really looking forward to this northamerican tour and US is by far our biggest streaming market. This decision was made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations. I hope we can play for our fab fans in the USA and Canada at some point in the near future.”

| READ: The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart |

The duo isn’t alone; Roxette joins a list of growing cancellations this year amid the infamous “blue dot fever.” The pattern is becoming familiar. An artist announces a tour. Sales sputter. Seating charts turn into oceans of blue dots. Then a “personal” reason emerges for pulling out before anyone has to say the quiet part out loud: nobody bought the tickets.

Recent cancellations include Kid Cudi, the Pussycat Dolls, Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, ZAYN, and Dolly Parton. As more and more tours get called-off, it’s becoming more clear that fans are rejecting the increasing ticket prices, dynamic pricing games, and the idea that concerts should be a luxury purchase.