Schema Magazine

Musician K'Naan A No Show | Management Called Cancelation

Canadian musician K'Naan, whose song \"Wavin' Flag\" was the theme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was scheduled to take the stage last Tuesday night at a charity concert at SFU. But due to last minute negotiations that fell through between event organizers and the artist's management, \"K'naan waited in his limo and refused to take the stage\". \n\nThe charity concert, organized by SFU Club I Vision One World was held on International Peace Day to raise scholarship funds for girls that live in rural Ghana. I Vision One World was provided with an undisclosed amount of money by SFU and the Simon Fraser Student Society to finance the concert, in hopes that ticket sales would repay those funds.\n\nWhen K'Naan did not come on stage, many fans that were anticipating a show were left very disappointed. \n\nLike any artist that uses Twitter, K'Naan tweeted in his defense: \"The student union, whom I trust meant well ... have been taken for a ride by a charitable sub group. In response, the students are angry.\"\n\nK'Naan's booking agent, Paquin Entertainment, released a statement saying that it was I Vision One World \"broke key contractual obligations\" and was more than 50% short of the financial agreement, which lead to his management team's decision to cancel the performance. The statement also said that the musician had nothing to do with the decision and that he was not even present when the decision was made.\n\nWhatever the reason was for the cancellation, I would hope that money was not the deciding factor in ditching out of a charity show. \n\n