Ginger Root praised for honest announcement of “first ever downgraded show”

Ginger Root has been praised by fans after announcing his “first ever downgraded show” and being transparent about low ticket sales.

The group’s frontman Cameron Lew took to Ginger Roots’ official social media accounts and shared a video announcing the new, smaller venue where their show in Los Angeles will now take place instead of the previously announced Hollywood Palladium.

“Greetings Los Angeles, Due to the lack of ticket sales, Ginger Root will no longer be performing at the Hollywood Palladium. Instead, we have been informed that the show has been downgraded to The Wiltern,” the American indie-soul singer said in the clip.

LOS ANGELES:
Due to insufficient ticket sales, Ginger root will no longer be performing at the Hollywood Palladium. The show has been moved to The Wiltern. All previously purchased tix are still valid. Celebrate Ginger Root’s first ever downgraded show. https://t.co/TSwbaN2tL4 pic.twitter.com/5ihcU8dFVG

— Ginger Root (@gingerrootmusic) October 28, 2024

He continued: “All previously purchased tickets are still valid but, we are being positive about the situation for this is Ginger Root’s first ever downgraded show. So come celebrate with us. Ginger Root’s first ever downgraded show, the final stop on the Shinbangumi USA tour on November 3 at The Wiltern.” Fans can purchase tickets to the show here.

Many users took to the comment section on Instagram to praise the musician for his transparency. “Dang, might be a smaller venue but I’d say it more an upgrade than going to Hollywood,” wrote one user while another added: “The Wiltern is cooler tbh. More secret spaces in there !!”

Ginger Root is the latest musician to have to downgrade shows this year. The Black Keys cancelled ‘International Players Tour’ back in April, which was to include 31 dates across the US and Canada from September to November this year.

No explanation was provided but shortly afterwards, following speculation that the move was done in light of low ticket sales, the members opened up about the cancellation, saying it was axed and re-planned in favour of smaller theatre venues as featured on their recent European dates.

Earlier this month, Liela Moss – formerly of The Duke Spirit – had to cancel her forthcoming tour due to the “spiralling costs” of shows.

In a lengthy X/Twitter post, she went on to say that the short tour would leave her with a considerable amount of debt and that she as a solo musician “expected and was prepared for by way of forecasting a small upward trajectory in shows and venue size next year, as a means to get some of that investment back over time.”

Moss added that she could not “justify or afford to lose that amount of money if it isn’t furthering my career,” adding that with the lack of ticket sales, she is not in any position to move forward to “get any funds back even gradually”.

Last month, Michael Kiwanuka reflected on the financial struggles that come with touring and expressed his “worry” that rising costs could deter new musicians from playing live.

“I worry that the quality of artists we produce may diminish because they don’t learn the grassroots, what it is to play and connect with your audience,” he told Music Week.

Back in August, The Armed announced the cancellation of their scheduled US tour this year over financial issues.

“As the tour moving into pre-production has called for resources we simply do not have, we’ve had to face facts that our current scenario is simply untenable. We cannot, at this moment, bring you the show,” they wrote in a statement shared on their social media accounts.

That same month, Rachel Chinouriri dropped out of Remi Wolf’s US tour and several festival slots due to the financial strain becoming “too much”.

At the start of the year, members of Blur, the band formerly known as Easy Life, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and more told NME about the huge battles artists face when playing live, as well as how they hope the industry will improve going forward.

Earlier this year Another Sky’s frontwoman Catrin Vincent spoke to NME about how “It’s hard to sustain yourself as an artist.”

“It’s really tough right now for musicians – especially in the UK. There are a lot of factors hitting us: like Brexit, the cost of living crisis. Most artists, maybe not the ones you see doing really well, but we rely on cheap ways of living – from small places in London, sub-letting rooms, too many people in a house, those kinds of situations,” she said.

She continued: “Now that’s all gone, life costs a lot more, and people are having to work more jobs. It’s really hard to sustain yourself as an artist. You rely on cheap ways of living because you don’t get paid properly. Streaming doesn’t pay, TikTok has had a major impact on the music industry, there’s too much.”