At least two cities in Russia canceled pro-war singer Shaman’s concerts due to low ticket sales for his “Victory” tour, the independent news outlet Agentstvo reported Friday.
Shaman kicked off his 100-city tour on Red Square last month, with plans to perform in Ukrainian cities occupied since Russia’s invasion. The singer said he aims to “program” his audience to think about Russia’s victory over Ukraine, more than two and a half years into the war.
However, his scheduled performances in Nizhny Tagil on Sept. 24 and Magnitogorsk on Oct. 3 were canceled over what organizers described as “technical reasons.” The independent investigative outlet Agentstvo reported that only half of the tickets had been sold for the Nizhny Tagil show, and there was “not much hype” surrounding the Magnitogorsk event.
These cancellations follow backlash over Shaman’s high performance fees, including a 16-million-ruble ($172,500) concert in Orenburg on Aug. 30, which drew criticism after the region was devastated by floods in the spring.
Earlier this month, authorities in the Stavropol region canceled another of Shaman’s shows and required him to refund 15 million rubles to the regional government.
Agentstvo also noted that Shaman’s concerts in the cities of Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and Tver are at risk of being canceled due to poor ticket sales, while performances in Perm, Kurgan, and Tyumen are either sold out or close to it.
TV ratings for Shaman’s performances have reportedly been lower than other popular programs.