Evan DandoDespite completing a three-show tour in Australia just last week, veteran US musician Evan Dando was denied entry to New Zealand at the weekend, resulting in the cancellation of his two planned gigs in the country.
As NZ's Newshub reports, the Lemonheads co-founder apparently missed his flight from Melbourne on Friday night, resulting in him missing his scheduled show on Saturday at Christchurch's Blue Smoke, before being refused entry into the country altogether, scrapping his plans for The Tuning Fork, in Auckland, on Sunday.
Personnel at Blue Smoke posted on Saturday afternoon that their show had been cancelled and that Dando's absence "was to do with personal circumstances and flights". "It's all a bit of a shame," they wrote.
In their own cancellation post, The Tuning Fork staff explained that, although they were "not sure of all the details", Dando had been "refused entry to New Zealand at the border", and that they "regretfully [had] no choice but to cancel the show".
The muso has a well-documented history of substance use — he was even arrested in Sydney more than 20 years ago on drug charges — though there is no insinuation that was the cause of his being blocked.
As with the Australian shows, Dando's tour of New Zealand was in honour of the reissuing of his 2003 debut solo album, Baby I'm Bored. His next scheduled show on the run is at Singapore's Hood Bar & Cafe tomorrow night.
