Mid-South Drake fans left disappointed after concert cancellation
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Rap superstar Drake has canceled his upcoming concert at the FedExForum, leaving thousands of Mid-Southerners disappointed.
Originally set to kick off his “It’s All a Blur Tour” featuring 21 Savage here in Memphis, Drake postponed his late June performance to August 6 just days before the event.
Also in late June, Drake was in Memphis to accept a ceremonial key to Shelby County and record a music video with Young Thug at Railgarten.
Bryson Porter, a long-time Drake fan, received tickets to the postponed show from his wife as a birthday gift.
“The anticipation for the event was really high,” he said. “So I was excited. I didn’t know what exactly I was going to see, but I was just really really excited for the event.”
Now—disappointment set in again.
Less than a week before the rescheduled date, fans received an email stating the concert was now canceled.
But fans aren’t pleased with FedExForum’s reason.
“That’s frustrating. It doesn’t look like a Beyoncé concert or anything like that, so that does not really make sense to me, per se. I don’t... that’s dumb,” Porter said.
He says that his wife was going to purchase a new couch, but instead decided to buy a birthday experience for her husband, a loyal Drake fan.
“My wife has been really really wanting a new couch, so I told her we can just take that money that she spent on the tickets and we can put it, a little bit of it towards the couch. Every time I look at my new couch, I’m gonna think about how Drake didn’t come to Memphis,” Porter said.
Although he is disappointed with the cancellation and the reason behind it, Bryson says he is still going to support Drake and possibly travel to another city to catch the performance.
But he says would rather give his money to the city that he grew up in.
“I work as a production director here at my church. To feel like my city isn’t able to produce what we need to in order to bring these great artists, it’s kind of upsetting,” Porter said.
Now he is taking this experience and using it as fuel to enhance his own production company with hopes that in the future, he will be able to advance FedExForum and over venues across Memphis.
“Step our game up at FedExForum, to make sure we can accommodate not just Drake, but future events so that us Memphians don’t have to miss out,” he said.
Action News 5 reached out to Shelby County Commissioner Board Chairman Mickell Lowery for comment on Drake’s acceptance of the key to Shelby County.
We have not yet heard back.
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