HAVANA, Cuba (CelebrityAccess) — The Rolling Stones are delaying their historic Cuban concert after learning that American president Barack Obama was visiting the island.
According to Billboard, The Stones pushed the date for their show back by five days, from March 20 to March 25.
"At one point we thought he (Obama) was coming to the show," Dale "Opie" Skjerseth told reporters on Saturday, according to Reuters. "He's our opening act," Skjerseth jokingly added.
"It took a little while. We had some scheduling issues. We were trying to lock down certain date; it was complicated by President Obama’s visit on March 21. We would have liked to have gone in a little earlier. We had to pick the right time. March 25 worked out very well for all of us, it worked out well for Opie and his production guys, it worked well for [AEG Live svp] Adam [Wilkes] and his team, and it worked for the Cuban government team. They have a lot of work coming up with Obama coming in. They want to make sure they do that right, and when we do the Rolling Stones, we do that right also," John Meglen, co-president of AEG Live’s touring division Concerts West told Billboard.
The show, when it finally does take place, is expected to see attendance of more than 500,000 Havana’s Ciudad Deportiva de la Havana.
While the Stones may be the first Anglo-American band to play in the Caribbean nation since the 1960 trade embargo went into effect, Australian rock band Dead Daisies performed a short tour there last year, recording their experiences in a short documentary of the trip. – Staff Writers
