Two festivals cancelled after Muse pull out of headline sets “due to unforeseen circumstances”

Posted On January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

Two music festivals have been cancelled after Muse pulled out of the events “due to unforeseen circumstances”.

Calabash South Africa 2026 was set to take place at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and DHL Stadium in Cape Town on February 7th and February 11th, respectively. The line-up also featured A Day To Remember, Simple Plan, and Nothing But Thieves.

However, Muse have now cancelled their scheduled headline set, which has left Calabash with little time to find another headliner. As a result, both festival dates have been cancelled.

In a statement, Calabash said: “Unfortunately, given the short notice and logistics involved with presenting such a large-scale touring stadium festival, we have been unable to secure a suitable alternative headliner in time and have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s event.”

In addition to cancelling their visit to South Africa, Muse have axed a headline date at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, as well as a performance at Bandland Festival in Bengaluru, India.

Bandland Festival has now also been cancelled. It was also set to include sets from Train, The Sophs, James and the Cold Gun and Pinkshift.

Organisers said in a statement, “With the festival just a month away and our commitment to delivering the kind of uncompromised live experience Bandland stands for, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s edition in the interest of preserving the experience we set out to deliver.”

Explaining their decision to withdraw from the events, Muse said, “We will be unable to proceed with the upcoming scheduled shows. This has been a very difficult decision and one we did not take lightly.”

They continued, “We’re truly sorry to everyone who purchased tickets and appreciate your understanding. Refunds will be available from the point of purchase. We hope to be back with you again very soon.”

In June, Muse returned with their new single ‘Unravelling‘, but have yet to release any further music. Their last album, Will of the People, arrived in 2022.

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