The British rock singer "reluctantly" cancelled his performance scheduled for Sunday night at the Calgary music festival, stating that he is currently "working on himself and taking time off in the UK." Hip-hop hitmaker Nelly and EDM icon Steve Aoki will take his place.
Yungblud will no longer be performing at Cowboys Music Festival.
Today (July 9), the Calgary music festival put out a statement on its Instagram announcing that the British rock star would no longer be playing the festival's final show on Sunday night (July 12), citing mental health and personal reasons.
"Reluctantly, we have made the decision as a team to pull Yungblud from the Cowboys Music Festival in Calgary this Sunday," the artist's management said in a statement to the festival. "We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause, these are not decisions we take lightly. All other scheduled shows will go ahead as planned."
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The singer also spoke on the decision, explaining in a statement of his own that he has returned home to the U.K. to take time off and focus on his mental health.
"To all my family in Canada I apologize for not being there with you all this weekend," he wrote. "I'm currently in a place where I'm working on myself and taking time off at home in the U.K. I'm taking this extremely seriously and facing head on what's going on for the good of the long term. I will never take any of this for granted and I will see you all soon. I love you all."
The festival sent well wishes to the singer in the same post, later revealing that multi-platinum hip-hop hitmaker Nelly and electronic music icon Steve Aoki will take his place. Nelly will bring several 2000s classics to the rodeo, including the smash hits "Dilemma" and "Hot In Herre," which respectively spent an impressive ten and seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Steve Aoki has headlined residencies in Ibiza and massive stages like Igloofest Gatineau and Coachella, with his cake-throwing stunt during his song "Cake Me" becoming a fan-favourite staple. With both artists headlining the final night, Cowboys Music Festival is set to end its 30th anniversary on a high note.
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The last-minute cancellation is not the only hurdle the festival has faced this year, as lots of back and forth regarding noise curfews and bylaws occurred in the weeks leading up to the festival. This year, the Calgary city council introduced a bylaw that imposed a 12 am noise curfew and a lower decibel limit on all festival tent concerts during the week, causing backlash from organizers like Penny Lane Entertainment, who runs Cowboys, as well as the Country Thunder Alberta festival, which cancelled its 2026 edition last-minute. Despite upholding the curfew, the city reached a compromise by extending the allowed period during which "cool-down" music plays, as crowds filter out from the festival site.
The Cowboys Music Festival is currently underway, with performances by The Beaches, Alanis Morrisette, Dominic Fike and more, and runs until Sunday night.
