Shaggy Responds To Fan Outrage Over Axed Aus Festival Set

Jamaican American singer Shaggy took to Instagram yesterday to fend off complaints after he didn’t perform his set at the Brisbane edition of Jammin Festival on Saturday (3 February). The festival also travelled to Sydney.

In a statement, Shaggy alleged that festival organisers cancelled his appearance at Jammin day one at the Riverstage “at the last minute” after the event was marred with delays and had to meet a strict 10 pm curfew. The Boombastic star cited “circumstances beyond our control”. In other words… It Wasn’t Me.

His non-appearance at the Brisbane edition of Jammin’ angered fans on social media, who flooded the festival’s Instagram comment section with complaints and refund requests.

“To my fans in Brisbane, Australia, I want to take a moment to address the unfortunate events that transpired at the Brisbane Jammin Festival on Saturday night,” Shaggy wrote on Instagram. “As many of you already know, delays throughout the day and a strict 10 pm venue curfew policy left no time for me to take the stage and resulted in the organisers cancelling my performance at the last minute.”

He continued, “We were truly looking forward to delivering a memorable show, but circumstances beyond our control prevented that from happening. It was not my intention to let down my fans, and I am equally disappointed and disheartened by the situation.

“Thank you for your understanding, and I hope to have the opportunity to perform for you in Brisbane under better circumstances in the future.”

While the Jammin Festival Instagram account posted highlights from throughout the day, when day two in Brisbane began (4 February), the festival addressed negative comments left on their profile by writing:

Overall, we had talented artists performing great music. We are sorry for technical issues that dampened your experience, but we know day two will deliver.

The Music has reached out to Jammin’ Festival for comment. At the time of writing, we haven’t received a response from the organisers.

This year’s Jammin was spearheaded by hitmakers Sean Paul, UB40 ft. Ali Campbell, and Shaggy. The festival also featured the likes of Julian Marley, Wyclef Jean, Third World, J Boog, Common Kings, and many more.

“We’re excited to be bringing some of the world's biggest reggae artists to Australian shores - but this time with a bigger and better line-up,” Jammin spokesperson Matthew Spratt said when the line-up was revealed in August. “Australians have been craving this type of festival, with over 50,000 tickets selling at the 2023 event.”