NEWS
Luke Bryan
Jim WrightEvent producer CID Presents plans to move forward with its current slate of destination events in Mexico following the cancellation of Dead & Company’s Playing in the Sand weekends. Playing in the Sand was scheduled to take place between Jan. 7-10 and 13-16 in Riviera Cancun, Mexico before the band and producers announced the cancellations Thursday due to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the globe.
In a statement provided to Billboard, CID Presents says they intend to proceed with their other January events at the same location, including Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa (Jan. 19-22) and Hootie and the Blowfish’s The Big Splash (Jan. 26-29).
“As we all know this is an ever-evolving situation and the rise and fall of COVID-19 over the past several months has been outside of our control. We are continuing to monitor the latest guidelines and recommendations from both the U.S. & Mexican governments as well as our on-site medical teams,” the statement reads.
CID promises to keep artists, crew and guests abreast of the ever-changing situation due to the omicron variant and states, “If, at any point during the two weeks leading up to a particular event, the CDC Risk Assessment Level for COVID-19 for the Quintana Roo (Cancún) region of Mexico rises to a Level 4 or Mexico designates the area unsafe to hold an event we will be offering full refunds to those not wishing to attend the particular event and will work closely with the artists and their representatives to determine if an event should be cancelled. At this time, we are taking this situation day by day and event by event.”
CID Presents is also scheduled to host events by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds’ on Feb. 18-20, Phish on Feb. 24-27 and My Morning Jacket on March 2-5.
“We are focused on Crash My Playa, our next event slated to start on Jan. 19, 2022 and look forward to delivering the outdoor beachfront concert experiences our fans have been waiting for while maintaining as safe an environment as possible. We continue to recommend buying travel insurance which may help protect against the risks of COVID-19 and traveling internationally during the pandemic,” the statement concludes.
Earlier this week, Dead & Co were forced to cancel their two weekends of events in Mexico after member Bill Kreutzmann announced he would not attend the shows in Mexico due to health complications and frontman John Mayer revealed he tested positive for COVID-19 before leaving for Mexico. Playing in the Sand attendees were instructed to check their emails for refund information.
Following the Dead & Co cancellation, electronic music festival Departure cancelled its inaugural show in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico on Friday. The electronic event was scheduled to begin Friday (Jan. 7) in the resort destination and extend through Jan. 11 with a stacked lineup featuring more than 70 artists.
“We have been liaising with local authorities from Playa Del Carmen and with the recent severe rise in the cases of omicron in the past few days, the governor announced last night that Playa Del Carmen is returning to yellow tier COVID restrictions and therefore we cannot continue with a show of this size as planned,” organizers Pollen wrote in a statement posted to social media on Friday.
Not for the first time, Moby is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration with clear frustration.
“The U.S. is collapsing under a deeply corrupt and shockingly ineffective administration,” the longtime electronic musician shared on social media. “These are unbelievably dark times.”
Moby went deeper into his thoughts through a video message, where he explained that people outside the United States keep asking Americans what is actually happening in the country.
“So many of my friends outside the United States keep asking me, ‘what the hell is happening over there?’ And honestly, we don’t even know,” he said. “The country is being controlled by one of the most corrupt, dangerous and incompetent administrations imaginable. Nobody fully understands what’s happening right now. These are very dark times in America.”
Moby joins a growing list of artists publicly criticizing Trump and MAGA politics, including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
Earlier this year, Moby uploaded another statement to social media where he addressed how people should respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. “The real question isn’t whether people should feel horrified or outraged by what’s happening in the United States,” Moby explained in the Jan. 26 clip. “The question is what are we actually going to do about it?”
The musician and activist also encouraged people to protest, saying demonstrations are a constitutional right and something he believes Trump’s administration is attempting to weaken.
In the end, he urged people to vote regularly, “not only during the upcoming midterms, even though those matter, but also in every special election throughout the year.” He also encouraged supporters to “stop giving money to the scumbag corporations backing Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
His newest remarks arrive as the U.S. Justice Department unveils a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut down following military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February without approval from Congress, leading to rising gas prices across the globe.
Throughout his independent music career, Moby has earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 along with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and an enormous catalog of sync placements. Overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, he is viewed as one of the defining artists of his era. He scored two No. 1 albums there with Play from 1999 and 18 from 2002, alongside 18 top 40 singles and two nominations for Best International Male at the BRIT Awards.
Check out Moby’s newest social media post below.
