"We have some artist updates for you. Some will be welcome additions and others may disappoint."
In a classic “we have some good news and some bad news” play, promoters of Juicy Fest have dropped a bombshell this afternoon ahead of the festival’s nine show run across Australia and New Zealand.
The 90s/00s nostalgia fest is due to kick off in Christchurch on Wednesday, but organisers took to Facebook to let punters know that “due to a personal holdup”, The Game MAY be missing the opening date of the tour. They stress that he has his visa and is ready to go, but it seems that all has not been smooth sailing. In a video message to fans he said:
“Juicy Fest is really important to me. I’ve been doing a lot with the whole Juicy Fest team. Everybody’s been doing their part as far as getting me cleared over there. I’ve been working for nearly nine, ten months over here with US immigration in retrieving my passport. It’s nobody’s fault but mine and I’ve been grinding. I’m real, real close to having my passport in the next few days. The only thing that got in the way was this holiday weekend.”
“I want to let you all know I’m doing everything I can to get there as soon as possible. I may miss the first show in New Zealand, in Christchurch, but I’ve got some good news too. My dog, my brother from another mother, YG is joining this tour and he will be there for you guys. Not in my absence, because I plan to be there by the second show. Like I said, I’m doing everything I can possibly do to get my passport released and the first thing I’m gonna do is land in New Zealand and rock the f**k out of that tour.”
There’s no word on why The Game’s passport has been held by immigration, with the rapper performing just three weeks ago in the UK… presumably with a passport.
Good news for fans, as he mentioned, is the addition of Compton rapper YG who will now be playing all dates. Promoters also stress that “Mase is already in the country, Trey Songz is in Australia on his way to NZ and others will make their way here in the next day or two”.
More understandably, it has also been announced that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Krayzie Bone will no longer be performing, however Bizzy Bone will be flying solo to represent the group. News broke in September about Krayzie Bone’s health issues and it seems that he is still not well enough to travel.
“We’ve been optimistic about Krayzie Bone’s health and recovery but current advice is that he shouldn’t travel internationally to perform and the rest of the group want to be by his side and return in 2025 when they can all do together.”
The 2024 edition of Juicy Fest is headlined by four hip-hop and R&B trailblazers, including T-Pain, Ashanti, T.I. and (watch this space) The Game. The rest of the lineup features the 90s and 2000s legends Mase, Trey Songz, Fabolous, Bizzy Bone, Keri Hilson, and Mario.
Juicy Fest 2024 will kick off in Christchurch on 3 January before heading to Wellington, Tauranga and Auckland and then trekking to Australia to blow minds in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.
Tickets are still available for all shows via the Juicy Fest website.
Juicy Fest Dates:
Christchurch: Queen Elizabeth Park - 3 Jan
Wellington: Hutt Park - 5 Jan
Tauranga: Bay Park - 6 Jan
Auckland: North Harbour Stadium - 7 Jan
Melbourne: Showgrounds - 12 Jan
Sydney: Accor Stadium - 13 Jan
Perth: Fremantle Oval - 14 Jan
Canberra: Stage 88 - 19 Jan
Gold Coast: Doug Jennings Park - 20 Jan
