Band cancels Kindersley show after social media backlash

A west-coast band that advocates for the environment and speaks out against pipelines has received a chilly reception in Saskatchewan.

Small Town Artillery was set to play a concert in Kindersley on April 9, but cancelled the show this week following a wave of social media backlash in the community.

“We did have some people say that they were thinking of protesting outside our show and cutting power to the building during our concert,” the group’s Tom van Deursen told Saskatchewan Afternoon’s David Kirton Friday.

He said he has great respect for the oil and gas industry, saying he has a lot of friends who work on the rigs and in the patch, but said when the mayor got involved, that was enough.

“It ended up getting to the point where the mayor of the town stepped in and he advised that maybe the venue shouldn’t do the show because of the temperance of the issue.” said van Deursen.

He addressed the controversy in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The mayor of Kindersley said he didn’t advise anyone to cancel the show. He said he did have a talk with the venue to let them know the backlash they were hearing as a council from the public.

Rod Perkins said at a different time and a different place this wouldn’t even be an issue, but with the economic problems in the energy industry, people are feeling a lot of stress.

“We’ve got people in our town that have lost their jobs and people that have been cut back and people who are in fear of losing their jobs and their businesses,” said Perkins.

He said he didn’t tell anyone what to do, but did look at what the implications were for the community should the show go ahead.

“Yes, they did put us in a bad light on something, but can you imagine how bad a light it would have been if they’d have come and if there were demonstrations and stuff that had been discussed,” said Perkins.