King Sunny Ade's North American tour canceled

King Sunny Adés spring tour of North America has been canceled for a combination of visa and personnel issues. After two members of the Nigerian Afro-beat band died last month in a car accident, the U.S. Embassy had been slow to approve visas for replacement members.

“At the same time,” according to a statement issued Monday by Adé’s representatives, “it became clear that the artist and the band had neither recovered from the impact of the tragedy, nor were they able to find consensus on how to move forward with normal touring.”

“As a result, [the tour] has been canceled until such a time as King Sunny Adé and his group have sufficiently regrouped and are ready to face the rigors of an International tour again,” the statement said.

The itinerary had included Southern California stops on May 7 at the Echoplex and May 8 at San Diego’s World Beat Center.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: King Sunny Adé. Credit: www.graviton.net