Some sad news for music lovers living in Israel: Lollapalooza, the acclaimed traveling music festival slated for Israel in August 2013 has been called off– for now, at least.
Representatives of the music festival said the festival will likely be postponed, according to the LA Times, even though the festival’s website now lists the 2013 destination as Chicago.
Lollapalooza was created originally in 1990 as a farewell to rock band Janes Addiction but became an annual anticipated music festival over the years in places like Chicago, Chile, and Brazil. Artists in the lineup of last year’s show included headliners like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, the Black Keys, Florence and the Machine, the Shins, and Black Sabbath, so you get the idea of how exciting it would have been to have a festival this monumental in Israel.
Festival organizers announced last year Tel Aviv would be the home of Lollapalooza for the summer of 2013, in Yarkon Park. However, rumors have been creeping up over recent months that the festival was running into financial issues and was also having trouble recruiting musicians to play in Israel, according to Israel newspaper Yediot Aharonot.
While artists like the Chili Peppers and Madonna have happily performed in Israel in the past, other bands like Elvis Costello, the Pixies, and Stevie Wonder have called off their shows in Israel from social pressure. Festival founder Perry Farrell, formally of Janes Addiction, spoke with CNN in August of his grand ambitions for the festival to eventually head to Jerusalem, so we still have our fingers crossed.
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