It’s been an anxious few days for Skrillex fans in St. Albert and area. One day the three-time Grammy Award winner is coming, the next there’s problems. But now, apparently, it’s pretty much settled.
On Tuesday, the dailies and the Internet were hyping Skrillex’s Full Flex Express train tour arriving Friday, July 20 with a stop at St. Albert’s Kinsmen Park.
By Thursday, Twitter feeds, including those from Kinsmen and Mayor Nolan Crouse, were stating that a deal had not been fully hammered out and the electronic concert was still subject to certain conditions, including the city’s approval.
Biz 3 Publicity media relations co-ordinator Clayton Blaha, working with the Skrillex team, tried to put the rumours to rest.
“They’re totally unfounded,” he said. “There’s no truth to the allegations. Everything has been sorted out.”
Well, not too fast. In fact, Kinsmen met Thursday evening to work out a deal with promoters Union Events and Deluxe Entertainment. It now appears the concert is a go, provided the city gives approval for a site plan, security, sanitation, liquor licence, parking plan and a strike-down detail.
Patrick Dower from the Kinsmen said any reported inconsistencies were due to “miscommunication between Skrillex and the promoters as to when the tour launch was due to be announced.”
He added, “They (promoters) are subject to conditions imposed by the city. But they’re motivated to work with the city to bring a world-class event to the City of St. Albert. I am confident it will work.”
Even without the city’s approval, concert tickets went on sale Friday at Ticketmaster at the stroke of 10 a.m. They ranged from $88 to $123.
The issue is that the city doesn’t have full details about what is required for the concert and what costs the city may face. Harvey Cohen, director of operations for Union, said a proposal would be submitted to the city sometime Friday afternoon.
The dubstep DJ of electronic dance music, known to a legion of fans as Skrillex (a.k.a. Sonny Moore), plans to travel across Canada by train on the Full Flex Express tour. The six-stop tour starts in Toronto on July 13 and ends in Vancouver on July 22.
At each stop the Grammy Award winner is recreating a festival atmosphere with multiple stages. And he’s bringing along some of the most energetic entertainers in the business – electronic music artist Pretty Lights, mix artist/producer Diplo and dubstep duo Koan Sound. Also along for the ride are two kick-butt fems – electro pop singer Grimes and multi-media psych pop producer Tokimonsta.
According to media releases, the tour concept was partly inspired by the 1970 drug- and alcohol-fuelled Festival Express Tour that featured some of that era’s most popular rock bands including Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead.
