By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
Ticketholders were left enraged last Thursday when a music gig, sold and promoted as a Childish Gambino show did not live up to the bill.
Donald Glover, known by his stage name Childish Gambino, was to perform at The Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle – a bastion of the live music scene in Newcastle – and include some performances with his group Royalty.
Fans of the rapper were bitterly disappointed with the set, which consisted of mainly Royalty playing their songs, and Childish Gambino taking part infrequently. Glover was at one stage booed by the crowd, as he played none of his popular songs and was quite for a lot of the set.
There was some initial backlash towards both the The Cambridge Hotel and the promoter, Big Apachee. The Cambridge Hotel released a statement on their Facebook page that reads ‘To everyone who came to see Childish Gambino show last night we are as disappointed as all of you.
“We had the opportunity to present Childish Gambino to Newcastle in an intimate gig and we jumped at the chance as we aim to bring the best possible acts to Newcastle for music lovers. As seen last night, unfortunately we have no control over the act’s performance once on stage.
“For those that aren’t aware, Canberra and ourselves were 2 additional Childish Gambino shows that were promoted in the exact same way as part of his current tour and we were extremely excited to be presented with this opportunity. Subsequently he didn’t deliver on what was billed and expected by everyone, including us.”
Marcus Wright, director of Big Apachee and BigTix (promoters of the event), was also disappointed with the gig. “We paid for something and the act changed the format. We were never confused about what the act was.”
Big Apachee and The Cambridge Hotel have partnered many times to bring quality live music acts to Newcastle. "Without live music we wouldn't be here. That's the legacy of the Cambridge," states licensee Dru Rusell. Other performers at The Cambridge Hotel have included The Preatures, You Am I and Jebediah. “Our relationship is very tight with The Cambridge Hotel. Russell and myself go back 25 years,” Wright states.
As a gesture of goodwill, Bigtix offered ticket holders free tickets to the Listen Out festival held in Sydney on Saturday.