October is the month to watch for Keith Urban fans...

Well, music fans something really, really important must be happening three months from now. Something so important that Keith Urban has cancelled his UK tour dates scheduled for October. Oh, and remember the Manchester, England show that was cancelled back in April due to his throat infection? Yeah, that one. It is cancelled again, too.

What, you ask, could be that important? Good question!

Keith’s management company released a statement:
“Due to touring, media and recording obligations which limit the time he is able to spend in the UK this year, the forthcoming…have been cancelled.”

Then there was a European press release that cited:
“…international commitments have now led to a change in tour plans…shows have been postponed.”

Hmmm, that really could mean anything, but certainly we will be given more details that will explain the media, recording obligations and international commitments that Keith now has, causing this sudden change, right?

And then we heard:
“The whole tour has been cancelled because the recording of his new album, due out next year, is behind schedule.”

New album? Wait, isn’t LPWCT about 9 months old? Is there a problem with it? We all thought Keith was on the every two year cycle for new albums.

The speculations were prolific:
“…less than expected ticket sales in the UK, Europe has only ever been a little bit country, gig costs exceed profits…”

Do you think that the side project Keith has to write the theme song for Australia, the epic starring his beautiful, beautiful princess has anything to do with this? Just sayin’…but I digress…

Keith, just in case you haven’t heard yet, your UK fans are crying “FRAUD!”

There are a lot of fans that saw you in April and were really happy they did. Many flew to the venues, many stayed in hotels due to the travel required. However they got there, not one batted an eye about spending the money. So when the announcement was made that Keith was returning in October, many went ahead and bought the tickets, made the flight arrangements and booked the hotels.

Not surprisingly, these same fans received impersonal notices from Ticketmaster announcing the cancellation of those shows. Then the confusing press releases and speculations were posted on the internet.

Cancelled? Postponed? Rescheduled for 2008? Huh??

A lot of fans looked to Keith’s fan club board, Monkeyville, for some type of reasonable explanation but after a few unhappy fans posted their comments the thread was deleted. The moderator started a thread for questions related to the cancellations but after a few comments, it was locked and then deleted as well.

P.S. The Monkeyville moderators don’t like it when the company line is not toted.

It doesn’t seem that the fans frustrations are being addressed or even being acknowledged. Many have spent a good deal of money on hotels and flights that are NON-REFUNDABLE. Yes, the tickets are being refunded but the service charges and fees are not. If you have not purchased a ticket from Ticketmaster lately, the fees are exorbitant.

Did Keith or his management company take a moment to think about the people purchasing the tickets? Do they have a clue who Keith’s UK fans are or where they are traveling from? Was any thought put into announcing the October shows in April or cancelling the October shows in July? Remember that saying “An unhappy person tells seven people their story but a happy person tells only one?” How many people do you think know about Keith’s cancelled shows?

It was suggested that all the UK fans send their bills for the non-refundable Ticketmaster fees to Keith’s management company asking for reimbursement. Good luck to ya!!

Back to the original question, what could be that important?

No one seems to know for sure or they are not saying. So mark October on your calendar as the Month to Watch. You know the UK fans will be, and I bet many, many US fans will be as well.