print article Print     e-mail article E-mail
Published August 23, 2012, 08:43 PM

Hinder concert at Corn Palace canceled

Singer said to have strained vocal cords; crowd hears announcement after opening act

By: Chris Huber, The Daily Republic

  • Hinder
    • image
    The rock band Hinder. (Submitted photo)
  • Hinder drummer

More...

Approximately 750 rock fans were disappointed Thursday when the band Hinder was unable to perform its concert at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

Singer Austin Winkler strained his vocal cords at a prior show, according to a representative of the band.

The band was supposed to kick off a string of four concerts in four nights at the annual Corn Palace Festival.

About five minutes before the band was scheduled to perform, Steve Bogdanovich, of Romeo Entertainment, the company that books the acts for the festival, was alerted of the situation.

“I went into the bus and he could barely talk,” Bogdanovich said. “I think he thought he could get by with it. Throughout the day, he was doing vocal exercises, but he just couldn’t go.”

Band members made the decision they could not play for the Corn Palace crowd and the remaining members of the band came out to offer their apologies and explain the situation to the crowd.

“When we went back there, it was a head-in-hands situation. They were pretty torn up they couldn’t play,” Bogdanovich said. “He wanted to do it, but he just couldn’t get the notes out.”

Hinder's Facebook page includes this message posted at 8:30 p.m. Thursday: "Special thanks to our awesome fans in Mitchell, SD for being so understanding tonight. Your support means everything to us. We can't wait to come back and make it up to you!!"

Corn Palace Director Mark Schilling said the band might be invited back.

“We will take a look at it in the future and if it works with a route they are going to be on, we will definitely try to do that,” he said.

Anyone who purchased a ticket for Thursday night’s show can exchange it starting this morning for a ticket to one of the three remaining Corn Palace Festival shows. Refunds for the $35 ticket price will also be offered, but not until Monday.

According to Bogdanovich, the band will not get paid.

“If you don’t perform, you don’t get paid,” he said.

This is the first time a band has been unable to perform during the Corn Palace Festival, to Schilling’s knowledge.

“You have disappointed fans right now and that is hard,” Schilling said. “We are just trying to figure out how to work all of this out right now.”

Fans didn’t go away completely empty handed. They were able to see South Dakota band Kory and the Fireflies perform as the opening act.

Country duo Thompson Square will play at the Corn Palace tonight, followed by The Charlie Daniels Band on Saturday and the Happy Together Tour on Sunday.

Tags: , , , , , , 

More from around the web