K’naan, the artist behind “Wavin’ Flag”, pulled out of a show at Simon Fraser University, and it’s left some with a bad taste in their mouths, despite the organizers taking the blame.
SFU’s I Vision One World club arranged the show as a fundraiser for education in Ghana, according to the Globe and Mail. K’naan agreed to perform at the show. But, when the club couldn’t come up with as much as half of his fee, K’naan – on advisement from his management, who is quoted in the article – pulled out of the show.
First, the organizers should’ve known better. If K’naan were playing for free, it might be worth it. He wasn’t, though, and he has a gig in Vancouver tomorrow night – just four days away from when they would’ve had him play. I don’t think he’s big enough at this point to draw a crowd out to two shows in less than a week, even in a city the size of Vancouver.
Second, not getting paid sure sucks, but maybe it would’ve been worth biting the bullet this time, K’naan. You could’ve kept the money they did offer you that night, and you could’ve avoided a national news article like this.
