Lily Allen‘s “West End Girl” tour was one of the year’s most acclaimed pop outings when it played U.S. theaters earlier this year, but there was some question about whether the intimate and highly theatrical one-woman show would translate to huge venues, when the British singer booked a tour focused mostly on arenas for the fall. North American audiences won’t get a chance to get an answer to that question, for the most part, as Allen and Live Nation revealed Monday they are canceling most of the arena gigs in favor of booking new shows in theaters and amphitheaters instead.
The tour’s opening night at Madison Square Garden Sept. 3 is still on as planned. But arena shows at Los Angeles’ Forum, Chicago’s United Center, San Francisco’s Chase Center, Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena and Montreal’s Bell Centre were canceled Monday, with ticketholders being notified they would automatically receive refunds in 5-7 days.
New shows have been booked at medium-sized venues In five of the affected six cities, and ticketholders whose money is being refunded will automatically be preregistered for a chance to buy tickets for the replacement dates. Only the Montreal concert has been canceled without any alternative venue being booked.
