MUSIC
Siouxsie and Iggy Pop play rain date at Cruel World festival after weather evacuation
Lightning strikes caused festival goers to evacuate the Cruel World Festival on Saturday.
Festival goers at the Cruel World Festival were forced to evacuate after intense lighting strikes were seen around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Saturday.
The evacuation forced the festival’s two biggest acts, Siouxsie and Iggy Pop, whose performance was cut short following evacuation orders, to cancel their shows.
Now, both acts have announced they will be returning on Sunday, although weather reports still show rain is possible in the area.
The weather affected live sets
Fans noticed during Iggy Pop’s set that the audio kept cutting off as a result of the lightning strikes in the area. It was during his song ‘Passenger’ that the sound cut off twice before he stopped playing, and an announcer asked everyone to evacuate the outdoors Brookside at the Rose Bowl venue.
The Pasadena fire department then ordered the festival to shut down out of safety concerns.
And at a different stage at the festival, The Human League were also cut-off five songs into their set.
The Cruel World Festival is an homage to the 80s sound
Siouxsie’s appearance at the Cruel World Festival marks her first U.S. performance in 15 years, with many festival goers heading to the festival to see her rare performance.
The festival began in 2020, although the pandemic postponed the inaugural festival date until May 14, 2022.
The festival is an homage to the music that was popular in the 80s and 90s, such as Siouxsie’s former band, Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as modern bands who play dark wave, new wave, post-punk and goth rock, including Molchat Doma, Boy Harsher, and the Soft Moon.
As a result of the canceled show, Siouxsie will be performing an extended set for fans on Sunday, with organizers highlighting that it will be her only North American performance this year.
Iggy Pop will also complete his set before Siouxsie takes the stage.
Fans will be able to use their passes to gain entry to Sunday’s shows, with gates opening at 5:00 p.m.
Before the festival was canceled at roughly 9:30 P.M., fans were able to see full performances by Echo & the Bunnymen, Gary Numan, Berlin, and Billy Idol.