{"id":2017006,"date":"2026-06-29T11:56:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T08:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017006"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T08:56:22","slug":"b-52s-french-festival-set-canceled-just-moments-before-violent-storm-forces-evacuation-last-night-was-a-total-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017006","title":{"rendered":"B-52s French Festival Set Canceled Just Moments Before Violent Storm Forces Evacuation: \u2018Last Night Was a Total Disaster\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe B-52s are speaking up about a harrowing situation that forced them to cancel their set at the Retro C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France on Saturday (June 27) when a huge storm descended on the area. \u201cWe are so sorry to everyone who came out to Ch\u00e2teau de Tilloloy yesterday. The storm made it impossible to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone on site had to come first,\u201d they wrote in an Instagram post that featured a photo of the stage with a giant bolt of lightning hovering ominously over the proceedings.<\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cA huge thank you to our touring crew for their work and care in keeping everyone as safe as possible throughout an incredibly dangerous situation,\u201d the post continued.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a translated Facebook post announcing the cancellation of Sunday\u2019s (June 28) planned final day of the festival\u2019s 10th anniversary edition, organizers wrote, \u201cIt is with great regret that we are forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for Sunday, June 28, due to a tornado that occurred late last night and destroyed all public reception facilities. The safety of the public, artists, teams and all stakeholders remains our top priority. Given the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site, this decision has been imposed as the sole responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSunday\u2019s lineup was slated to feature sets from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Europe, Ultra Vomit, New Model Army and Fools Garden.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe statement did not address what singer Fred Schneider described in a Facebook post as a frightening scene backstage during the storm. \u201cLast night was a total disaster. The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France,\u201d he wrote. \u201cFirst, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform. Luckily, our tour manager, said to hold back 10 minutes because it\u2019s not safe and we have to see what is going on with the storm. Then it was like a world wind hurricane force and heavy rain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSchneider said most of the band\u2019s crew were caught in the storm and were forced to duck for cover anywhere they could as the festival was evacuated, with the band unable to leave the site due to what he said were dangerous driving conditions. He also reported that the power went out several times backstage and that the band\u2019s equipment was damaged in the storm.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform. And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn\u2019t safe to stay out and make our way to the stage, there was lightning striking the band before our set,\u201d Schneider continued. \u201cScaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe included several pictures of what he described as the violent aftermath of the storm, depicting the band\u2019s equipment and amps smashed in piles on the stage. The veteran singer ended his post with a bizarre scene in which he described being huddled in the dark backstage as representatives of the event\u2019s promoter walked around with flashlights asking the group to sign posters. \u201cWell, I won\u2019t tell you what strong expletives words were used,\u201d he wrote. \u201cOur sound man Frank feared for his life. It was that dangerous. We were worried about the crew the entire time. No one was hurt thank goddess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt press time a spokesperson for the festival had not returned Billboard<\/em>\u2018s request for additional comment on the incident or Schneider\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe storm came as France is just beginning to emerge from a week of deadly high temperatures, with the smothering heatwave reportedly resulting in more than 1,000 excess deaths as the extreme heat broke records. The Europe-based World Weather Attribution group said in a new study that the norm-shattering heat and humidity in Europe over the past week would not have been possible without climate change. <\/p>\n

\"Billboard<\/p>\n

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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/concerts\/b-52s-festival-set-retro-c-trop-canceled-storm-evacuation-1236283483\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/P115NSEA-e1782731478876.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard The B-52s are speaking up about a harrowing situation that forced them to cancel their set at the Retro C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France on Saturday (June 27) when a huge storm descended on the area. \u201cWe are so sorry to everyone who came out to Ch\u00e2teau […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2017006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2017006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2017006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2017006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2017006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}