The B-52s’ appearance at Retro C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France was canceled on Saturday, mere minutes before a violent storm hit the area, destroying some of the band’s gear in its wake.
“We are so sorry to everyone who came out to Chateau de Tilloloy yesterday. The storm made it impossible to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone on site had to come first,” the B-52s posted on Facebook. “A huge thank you to our touring crew for their work and care in keeping everyone as safe as possible throughout an incredibly dangerous situation. We hope everyone got home safely.”
The festival, which described the storm as a tornado, announced it would be canceling its final day on Sunday following the evacuation from the night prior. “It is with great regret that we are forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for Sunday, June 28, due to a tornado that occurred late last night and destroyed all public reception facilities,” the organizers announced on Facebook, translated from French. “The safety of the public, artists, teams and all stakeholders remains our top priority. Given the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site, this decision has been imposed as the sole responsible.”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Europe, and more artists had been booked to perform on Sunday at the festival in northern France.
While the B-52s did not end up performing, the lead-up to the abrupt cancellation of their set appeared harrowing. Frontman Fred Schneider detailed the situation in a post from his Facebook account, calling it a “total disaster,” adding, “The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival.” The post includes several photos. He credited their tour manager Alice Martin for advising they “hold back 10 minutes” before taking the stage.
“First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform,” Schneider said. “Luckily, our tour manager said to hold back 10 minutes because it’s not safe and we have to see what is going on with the storm.
“Then it was like a world wind hurricane force and heavy rain. Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter,” he continued. “The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.”
He added: “We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform. And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn’t safe to stay out and make our way to the stage, there was lightning striking the band before our set.”
“Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed. Claudia our mascot tumbled off stage when the sides and back curtain of the stage blew off,” he said. He added: “I still don’t know the total assessment of the damage” and ended by saying, “No one was hurt thank goddess.”
The festival did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
France, alongside other countries in Europe, is suffering under a record heatwave, with the country reporting 1,000 excess deaths and warning that it expects that number to rise, as Reuters reports. The storms on Saturday that took place in parts of France, including the northern region where Tilloloy is located, brought in cooler air, but also caused power outages affecting thousands of households. Katy Perry’s headlining appearance at Belgium’s Werchter Boutique festival on Saturday was also canceled due to “inclement weather and crowd safety concerns.”
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