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Charley Crockett Forced To Cancel Canadian Tour After Being Denied Entry Into The Country… Twice
“Everybody’s got a past. Mine’s still haunting me.”
It’s safe to say it’s been quite the month for Charley Crockett. After scoring his second-career Grammy nomination for the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, he’d arrive in style and represent the genre alongside the likes of Zach Top, who would go on to win the award with Ain’t In It For My Health, Lainey Wilson, Reba, Jelly Roll and more.
On Super Bowl weekend, the “Jamestown Ferry” singer, who has never been one to shy away from speaking about what’s on his mind, would find himself in hot water with many after taking aim at the likes of President Trump, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and even Jelly Roll. In case you missed it, this came directly ahead of Bad Bunny’s controversial Super Bowl halftime appearance and ultimately saw Crockett call Trump a “cosplay president” while also calling for both Musk and Theil to be deported in a lengthy Instagram rant.
Last week, he’d turn around and announce the April 3rd release of his brand new album, Age of the Ram, which will serve as the final part of his “Sagebrush Trilogy” that began last year with both Lonesome Drifter in March and Dollar A Day in August.
Over the weekend, Crockett was scheduled to begin the Canadian leg of his current winter tour, which was set to begin on Saturday in Vancouver and wrap up on March 6 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Just an hour before his Vancouver show on Saturday, however, the “Jamestown Ferry” singer took to Instagram to announce that it would be cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances,” before promising a rescheduled date sometime in the future.
As it turns out, those “unforeseen circumstances” turned out to be Crockett’s inability to cross the Canadian border due to his past felony convictions, most notably his 2014 arrest for felony possession and trafficking more than 5 pounds of marijuana in Virginia. Though the charge had a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, Crockett was given a 10-year suspended sentence and fined $10,000.
This morning, Crockett would take to Instagram to post a photo of an immigration report from the Government of Canada denying him access into the country due to his past felony drug charge, which carries the possibility of a life sentence if the same crime was to occur in Canada.
View this post on Instagram
In the following slide, Crockett would explain that he was denied entry into Canada twice, once in Vancouver and once again in Kelowna, getting rejected both times before being advised to return home. In turn, he’d announce the cancellation of his entire Canadian tour.
“Everybody’s got a past. Mine’s still haunting me. I tried to cross the Canadian border twice in 24 hours. After they denied me entry in Vancouver, I tried again in Kelowna and was rejected a 2nd time. I’ve been advised that if would jeopardize my freedom to try and enter again. I’m deeply sorry to announce the cancellation of my entire Canadian Tour.”
In the final slide, he’d announce that full refunds will be available for those who purchased tickets before apologizing to his fans.
“Full refunds will be issued at the point of purchase. I know this doesn’t begin to make up for u’all’s time and hard earned money. I apologize to everyone affected. I know I let y’all down. Canada’s such a beautiful country full of some of the best fans in the world, and I’ve had the time of my life playing shows for y’all. I ain’t one to quit and I aim to be back one of these days real soon. Yours truly, Charley.”
As Crockett alluded to in his post, he has been allowed to perform in Canada as recently as last year when he travelled to Ontario with Leon Bridges back in August during their joint tour.
Unsurprisingly, due to his past comments on the Trump administration and its border policy, the comment section of Crockett’s Instagram were quite mix. While some, including Silverada, were offering up support, others took to the comments to criticize his past comments, pointing out the irony of him complaining about the US border policy:
“Ain’t this some sh*t. Sorry to hear, amigo” – Silverada
“‘Serious criminality’… weed charges 10 years ago”
“10 years ago and for weed… c’mon Canada”
“You mean Canada has entry restrictions? And Immigration Enforcement?”
“Oh look….Canada has rules about who can enter? Oh my! And they get called beautiful country with beautiful people while the US gets bashed. Nice….totally get it now.”
“Canada will let anyone in except if you’re a hard working person”
“Does anyone bemoaning US immigration standards while holding up Canada as a champion of human rights understand that they’re just dishonest with themselves?”
“But you created and planned an entire tour in a country where you knew you weren’t allowed in – then sold tickets to thousands of fans knowing there was a chance you couldn’t get in? Sounds like gross negligence. Regardless of what the felony was for, you knew you had it and took people’s money anyways.”
As of now, Crockett has not announced further plans to reschedule.The post Charley Crockett Forced To Cancel Canadian Tour After Being Denied Entry Into The Country… Twice first appeared on Whiskey Riff.