MNEK cancels UK and European tour over ticket sales and costs

MNEK has cancelled his upcoming UK and European tour, citing poor ticket sales and saying the production was not ready to the standard he wanted. The shows were due to begin next month, following the release of his second album, *Bulldozer!!*, last month. [1]

In a statement on Instagram, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter said he had been “really looking forward” to performing the album, but had “no interest in doing this tour if I can't do it right”. He thanked fans who bought tickets and said they would be refunded soon. He said he would try to tour the album when he could put on a show fans “deserve”. [1]

MNEK, whose real name is Uzoechi Emenike, also pointed to high production costs and over-ambitious planning, saying other artists had recently cancelled shows for similar reasons. Tickets for his dates had started at about £30. [1]

The cancellations come amid wider concern about the cost of touring. David Rowntree, chair of the Featured Artists Coalition and drummer with Blur, told the BBC earlier this year it was “virtually impossible now to make touring pay for itself”. [1]