Fans hoping to hear Usher perform his beloved 2004 album Confessions in full today (May 4) at the Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas will have to wait until it’s a lot less windy. The single-day mega event at the outdoor Las Vegas Festival Grounds was preemptively canceled last night ahead of “dangerous weather” including “30-35 mph sustained winds with gusts potentially more than 60 mph,” much to the chagrin of organizers.
“Following advice from the National Weather Service and in consultation with local public officials, we must make the safest decision for our fans, artists and staff, and cancel tomorrow’s Lovers & Friends Festival,” reads a note on the festival’s website. “This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision to make as we are aware that fans have traveled from all over the world to enjoy this incredible lineup of superstars and have been looking forward to this event for several months. We’ve worked hard to create an amazing event for you, and we are just as disappointed as you are.”
The Live Nation-promoted event was to feature a who’s who of ’90s- and 2000s-era stars, including Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Backstreet Boys, Nas, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Ludacris, Monica, Brandy and Ashanti. Refunds will automatically be processed.
Lovers & Friends got off to a rocky start in its inaugural 2022 edition, after people in the audience claimed to have heard gunshots and ran en masse out of the venue. The incident was chalked up to a false alarm, and last year, the festival proceeded without incident with performances from Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey, among others.
