Wizkid, also known as Ayodeji Balogun, shared with his legions of fans that his highly anticipated “More Love, Less Ego” tour will be postponed through the fall.
Regarded as one of the biggest and most influential African artists of this time, he made the official announcement on his social media pages on Wednesday, March 1.
“Due to unforeseen logistical circumstances the Wizkid – More Love, Less Ego Tour has been postponed to Fall 2023,” read the post. “All tickets purchased for the originally scheduled shows will be honored on the new dates at the respective venues. Stay tuned for more information. Love, Wiz.”
Wizkid joins a small number of Afrobeats artists, including Burna Boy, who have canceled or postponed concerts and tours for unknown reasons over the past few months. Fans are concerned about upcoming and future U.S. concerts and what’s the real reason behind these sudden cancellations.
The “More Love, Less Ego” tour was supposed to begin in Houston, Texas, on March 3 and continue on to several cities nationwide, including Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Detroit, Chicago, and San Francisco. The recording artist was also to tour Montreal and Toronto.
Fans reacted on social media, and many were displeased by the last-minute postponement.
One fan replied, “wizkid really cancelled his tour like my flight ticket is refundable roc nation will pay for this.”
“Fall 2023 starts from September 23 (206) days,” noted one.
While the post gave “logistical circumstances” as the reason for the postponement, many on social media speculated that low ticket sales played a role.
Yet, Wizkid has performed on stages all around the world on his “Made in Lagos” tour. The hitmaker sold out three nights at London’s iconic O2 Arena in November 2021.
In September 2022, he headlined Rolling Loud’s Toronto festival as the first African artist in history to achieve this feat. His album, “More Love, Less Ego,” was released months later in November.
Wizkid is expected to make history as the first African artist to headline the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, where he will perform in front of over 62,000 people on July 29. Due to the postponement of his new tour, fans are wondering if the rest of his U.S. performances this year will be in jeopardy.
A few mentioned that Nigerian superstar Burna Boy recently canceled performances in 2021 as well. The “Bank On It” singer canceled concerts in Washington last October, and low ticket sales were suspected. He also canceled shows in the U.K. last July, as well as his 2022 Australian tour at the last minute last September.
The Twitter handle @WYExpect posted, “Wizkid’s tour has been postponed Wizkid wanted to do arenas just like his counterpart Burna Boy however tickets were not selling fast enough hence the postponement. Is Wizkid still the leading artist out of [flag of Nigeria emoji]?”
Davido also announced last November that he had postponed his long-awaited “Are We African Yet?” or “A.W.A.Y” Festival following the tragic drowning death of his 3-year-old son, Ifeanyi Adeleke. The “Fall” singer pushed his tour back until Nov. 18.
Wizkid and Burna Boy are currently scheduled as the headliners of the U.S. edition of the Afrobeats music festival Afro Nation in Miami, Florida. The two-day music festival is expected to take place on May 27 and May 28.
Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy are all scheduled to headline the 2023 Afro Nation music festival this June in Portugal. Other performers on the lineup include 50 Cent, Asake, Fireboy DML, singer Arya Starr, and Ghanaian singer Black Sherif. Fans are hoping neither festival will be impacted.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Live Nation for a comment on the cancellations but received no response.
