CHICAGO — After initially postponing four shows Feb. 12, Lady Gaga and Live Nation announced Feb. 13 that, due to the artist’s need for hip surgery, 21 of the shows that had been scheduled as part of her Born This Way Ball tour through March would have to be cancelled. Eighth Day Sound had been supporting the tour with a d&b audiotechnik J Series PA and DiGiCo SD7 consoles for control.
With a total 80 shows in 2012, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball tour ranked as the fifth biggest money-maker by Pollstar, generating $161.4 million in revenues.
The costs to the industry resulting from the cancelled tour, which includes scheduled performances in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Atlanta and Miami, were estimated to be as high as $35 million, according to published reports.
The Born This Way Ball Tour was originally conceived as a massive, two-year, six-continent trek.
Lady Gaga’s audio crew consisted of a mix of Eighth Day sound staffers, freelance techs and others employed by Lady Gaga herself, noted Eighth Day’s Jason Kirschnick. The tour cancellation amounted to an end to the tour that was about five weeks earlier than the original schedule. The crew, he added, was as surprised as everyone by the change in plans.
“There was no warning,” said Kirschnick, noting that Eighth Day was bringing its gear back to the shop for maintenance so it could be prepared for use to support other projects.
