BEIJING (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Modern Sky Festival, sponsored by one of China's top indie labels, cancelled all 14 of the international acts slated to play at the festival, which is set to run from Oct. 4-7 in Beijing's Chaoyang Park.
The reasons for the cancellation was not made immediately clear and organizers for the festival released a statement which said, "The 14 overseas acts previously announced for the 2009 festival are unable to participate due to unforeseen circumstances," Billboard reported.
Among the canceled acts that had been on the bill were The Buzzcocks, Shonen Knife, British Sea Power, International Noise Conspiracy, The Futureheads and Radio4. The festival is set to go on, despite the holes in the lineup, however, it will feature only one performance stage instead of two.
The festival was set to coincide with China's week-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic (officially on Oct. 1.) According to Billboard, the cancellations may have been part of a tightening of security around the nation in anticipation of the celebration.
Other performances by international artists in China have also been canceled, including a pair of additional dates by International Noise Conspiracy, Billboard said.
A select handful of performances such as Beyonce's scheduled Beijing October 23 are still on. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
