Two Cancel, Several ‘Coachella’ Bands In Jeopardy Due To Volcano

News Channel 3 has confirmed that at least two bands scheduled to perform at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival (Coachella Fest) have cancelled because their planes cannot take off due to the erupting volcano in Iceland.

The Cribs and Bad Lieutenant have cancelled their appearances, and several more are in danger of doing the same.

“Variety” reports Gary Numan is also facing cancelation, although that hasn’t happened yet.

“The last thing I expected this morning when I woke up was to hear that volcanic ash might be preventing us from flying to America,” sNuman told Variety, due to appear at Coachella on Sunday, on his website on Thursday. “At the moment the very best British Airways are offering us, and this without any guarantee, is to put us on a Sunday flight that gets in to Los Angeles in the afternoon on Sunday. That is one step away from useless and means that, if we are very lucky, we might just make it to the festival site (a three hour plus drive from Los Angeles) in time for our slot but without a single second of rehearsal…”

Variety says The Cribs might be most affected by the delays, since they were due to appear on the opening day of the fest. The band hopes to get a slot later in the 3-day program.

“All the headliners are in the country and we’re in contact with the acts that are having travel issues based on the ash,” said Coachella promoter Paul Tollett in a statement. Organizers, either en rout to the fest or busy scrambling at the 11th hour, would provide no further comment.