Washed out: Waterboys walk out of gig citing safety concerns amid heavy rain

Frontman Mike Scott apologised to fans on social media after the gig was cancelled and assured them they were looking for a way to come back and "play a safe venue". Picture: Miki Barlok

Tensions and winds were high in Donegal last night when the closing night of a week-long festival ended with a walk-off.

Hundreds of music fans were left disappointed after The Waterboys abruptly left the stage at Fomhair Festival in Gaoth Dobhair. Before a full song could be played, the band departed the stage and later cited health and safety reasons as well as power supply issues as the reason why they were unable to perform.

The Halloween gig at the Donegal festival was set to be the final stop of the band's current tour and their only Irish date this year.

Frontman Mike Scott apologised to fans on social media after the gig was cancelled and assured them they were looking for a way to come back and "play a safe venue". The singer was critical of the promoter involved in the festival and claimed he had been subject to online abuse in the hours following the abandoned gig.

I'm told promoter made an unprofessional + untrue announcement blaming the cancellation on me personally, resulting in online abuse directed against me by people who don't have the facts. Band & tour mgmt believed gig was dangerous and would not put band/crew/audience at risk. https://t.co/OcKnmzT9XH

— Mike Scott (@MickPuck) November 1, 2021

Mr Scott said the promoter made "an unprofessional and untrue announcement blaming the cancellation on me personally".

In a clip of the on-stage announcement recorded by fan Sean Hillen, festival organiser Shane Barr can be heard saying: "To give you an update on what's happening, the band were starting their gig and there were tuning issues with their production company on the keyboard so the gig stop as you've seen.

But in the last 10 or 15 minutes from the green room, Mike Scott has decided that it is too windy for them to play.

"Just to make it very clear, as the organiser of the event and the festival, we have confirmation from the tent company that it is safe to play the gig.

"We have been having conversations for 15-20 minutes to try and inform them of the safety issue that we've had from the company but he is refusing to go ahead with the gig."

According to Mr Scott, the decision to call off the show was reached when the band and tour management believed the gig was dangerous and would potentially put the band, the crew and the audience at risk.

Tonight's show st Fomhair Festival in Geeedore has had to be cancelled for health and safety reasons and power supply problems. It was not safe. We apologise to all who came to the show and are disappointed.

— Mike Scott (@MickPuck) October 31, 2021

In a statement from keyboardist Paul Brown this morning, he claimed that leaks had developed around the stage due to the heavy rain causing serious electrical risks which saw him receive an electric shock from his microphone.

According to Mr Brown, the group then waited backstage as the crew worked to resolve the issues with the voltage which had affected the keyboard as well as the electrical problems. After almost 45 minutes, it was decided the issues couldn't be resolved and so the gig was called off.

Shane Barr, organiser of the week-long Fomhair Festival, told RTÉ Radio 1's Livelinethe band had already left when he had to go on stage to inform the 1,400 fans that the gig wouldn't proceed.

He said the event was safe and there were a number of people on the festival team monitoring conditions throughout the day given the high winds.

Responding to the claim by Mr Brown that he had gotten an electric shock, Mr Barr said: "We never heard anything about that last night... There was no electric shock reported."

The band raised a number of issues last night after exiting the stage but Mr Barr said an electric shock wasn't among them.

Fans have been told that they will receive a refund on their tickets.