I spent the better part of this week down in Austin, Texas for the SXSW Music Festival, I flew back to Philly yesterday afternoon, and missed the final night of the festivities...and a scary incident surrounding The Roots. They were set to headline a showcase last night that was cancelled due to a bomb threat.
The Austin Police reported that the threat came in via email, and although a safety check at the venue showed no signs of a threat, for the safety of all involved, the performance was cancelled. Austin police were able to track down and arrest a suspect. Read their full statement, below.
Bud Light was the sponsor of the event and said in a statement: “Due to a security concern, we have made the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s Bud Light x The Roots SXSW Jam. After working proactively with SXSW, the Austin Police Department, and other authorities, Bud Light believes this is the best course of action to ensure the safety of our guests, staff, and artists, and appreciate your understanding. We are truly sorry to have to cancel the event, but we felt it was necessary to take all safety precautions.”
Stereogum reported that Questlove wrote in tweets that have since been deleted:
“Uh, welp can’t say much but for those in Austin waiting in line to see us tonight. Tonight’s show has been cancelled [sic]. They’ll make official announcement but I’d rather save y’all the trouble of waiting in line,” read one of the tweets.
Questlove also uploaded an Instagram Story with the caption “Welp. It’s 2018. Show cancelled. These are the times we now live in.”
As disappointing as it was for both fans and the band, it's a relief that everyone's safe an a suspect is in custody.