The SOLD OUT Skyway Theatre Gets a One Song Set From Yelawolf

UPDATE:

(Editor’s Note) Yelawolf issued a statement on Twitter HERE

The Skyway Theatre will issue refunds a point of purchase (so if you got the tickets online that should pretty much automatic, according to a FB post they have names for cash purchases and you will need to follow up with them).  As much as the situation may have sucked last night, the Skyway did their best to make lemonade (or lemondrop shots) in a situation outside their control.  

We asked the Skyway for an update and were told: “For refunds they can call the box office between 11am – 5:30pm weekdays at 612-333-6100. We are looking at a new date in February and should hopefully have the date set by the end of this week.”

Original Post:

The buzz was in the air today in the Twin Cities. Hundreds lined up on a chilly evening to get into the Skyway Theatre for a SOLD OUT performance from Yelawolf. You could feel the anticipation even when just standing in the exhausting lines to get through the doors. Multiple people had merch representing their favorite Alabama bred rapper on just proving the loyalty these fans have to this superstar.

The openers set the atmosphere perfectly. The show started out with a couple of rap groups that got the night kicked off in the right way. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the name of the first act to take the stage but his tongue-in-cheek raps gave the audience a feeling of intensity that most openers can’t do. Following him was Big Henri- a rapper from Alabama. Big Henri and his brother, who acted as a bit of a hype man, pushed through technical difficulties and provided the audience with a set that was impossible to not jump along to. Both the opener and Big Henri’s sets were short– like twenty minute short– but they both made an impression with the fans and, when wandering throughout the massive venue between acts, it was impossible to miss the swarm of people around the rappers near the merch tables.

The last opening act was Mikey Mike. Mikey’s set was complete with a “wheel of misfortune”. What is a wheel of misfortune you might ask? Well, at two points during the set, Mikey invited a member from the crowd to come up on stage and give the wheel a whirl. The first girl who got up there had the unfortunate prize of drinking some Fireball out of Mikey’s shoe. No, I’m not kidding. He literally took his show off, poured some of the Fireball he had been carrying on stage into said shoe and proceeded to pour it into the girl’s mouth. The prize for this? A selfie, hug, and I think a T-shirt or something. The other winner of the wheel of misfortune was offered a drink of dirty shower water from the night before. The guy who won this prize proceeded to grab the bottle full of gross looking water and shower the crowd with it. Aside from the gags throughout the set, Mikey Mike’s music had a much calmer vibe that the other two opening acts. Although it stayed in the whole rap world, it leaned towards the stoner rap side of things. This sound bridged the gap between openers and the headliner perfectly.

All of the openers had an energy that got the crowd moving and kept the drinks flowing. The energy was electric and, as much as the crowd was enjoying the quick opening sets from the three acts, you could tell people were just waiting for the one and only Yelawolf to finally take the stage.

As the crowd packed in closer to the stage, the lights dimmed. With a burst, Yelawolf hit the stage to kick off his set. However it wasn’t the performance that floored me, it was what unfolded as the first song ended.

Yelawolf literally played one song then for some reason, stormed off stage. The packed house continued to roar, but after a few minutes, I got a sense that something was up. After 13 minutes, I thought, “Holy shit. this is seriously going to be a mess … what the hell”. At about the 15 minute mark, the house music went up and people started moving towards the door. Some were going to get another drink, some yet another smoke, and others were surely going to complain to someone who had no power over what was happening. I was getting antsy and instantly started texting friends and telling them what was going on. I’m sure they thought I was joking and honestly, I wish it was a joke. I may not be a huge fan of Yelawolf but I have always been impressed when I’ve caught him at festivals and I was more than excited to see him headline his own show. 

Over twenty minutes went by before there was movement on stage. One lone guy (not Yelawolf) took center stage and asked the crowd to put two fingers up. The crowd obliged but you could cut the tension with a freaking knife at this point. Everybody wanted to know what was going on and here was our answer. The guy went on to explain that Yelawolf had just been rushed to the hospital and would no longer be performing. The reaction in the crowd was instant. Some people were screaming “Bullshit!”. Some were just straight up laughing. Others were getting emotional because of the worry that something was wrong with their favorite rapper. Regardless, everyone in the crowd just stood there stunned. The guy (who I think is affiliated with Skyway, not the tour) calmly explained that tickets would be refunded, the show would be rescheduled, and there would be drink specials going on at the show at The Loft (another venue in the complex) and we were all invited.

I was shocked to say the least. I’ve been to hundreds, if not thousands, of shows and I have literally never had anything like this happen before. I heard the rumors start circulating that Yelawolf wasn’t actually sick, it was just drama between him and his band but, regardless, Yelawolf wasn’t going to play and now a sold out crowd was left with nothing to do. 

The rumors have already started flying online. Reports claim that Yelawolf was seen throwing the microphone before storming off the stage. Then there’s the rumor that there was a possible altercation, and even a couple rumors that say he fell off the stage after an altercation with a staff member from the venue. Between all of those claims and then the explanation officially given to the crowd that Yelawolf had fallen ill and had to be rushed to the hospital, who even knows what’s right. All I know is that there were a lot of disappointed people leaving the Skyway far too early on a Saturday night and none of them looked happy.