Blue dot fever strikes again? Kacey Musgraves has quietly canceled three concerts on her upcoming Middle of Nowhere Tour, including what was scheduled to be the opening night in Chicago. The canceled shows include August 20 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, August 29 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and September 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While no announcement was made, ticket holders were informed of the cancellations via email and informed that refunds would be issued automatically. All three of the canceled shows were added after the tour was initially announced, during the artist presale due to high demand. There are still currently shows scheduled for all three three cities (including two shows at Madison Square Garden) and tickets available for the remaining shows in those cities. In addition to the three canceled concerts, Kacey also added additional dates in Austin, Texas on October 8 and Dallas, Texas on October 11. Obviously we don’t know for sure why the shows were canceled, but looking at ticket sales for the remaining shows it appears that there are plenty of seats still available in each city. While the new opening night in Chicago appears close to a sell out, the newly-added date in Austin seems to be struggling with ticket sales. And the new date in Dallas, which is also in her home state, doesn’t appear to be selling much better: The cancellations are just the latest in a string of artists we’ve seen pulling the plug on shows – or entire tours – apparently due to low ticket sales. Back in the spring, Post Malone announced that he would be postponed the start of his Big A– Stadium Tour, canceling the first six scheduled stops before kicking off in June. While Post said that he was pushing back the start of the tour so he could focus on finishing up his new album, plenty of people pointed out that the cancelled shows all appeared to be struggling with ticket sales, with some stadiums appearing to be on track to be more than half empty when they pulled the plug. But Posty is far from the only tour cancellation we’ve seen so far – and it’s not just in the country world. Pop star Meghan Trainor cancelled her entire tour, just months after welcoming her new son, citing her desire to spend time with her family. And the Pussycat Dolls cancelled the North American leg of their reunion tour – and in a rare move, they straight up told fans that it was due to low ticket sales: “After taking an honest look at the North American run, we’ve made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to cancel all but one of the North America dates.” Actor-turned-country singer Kiefer Sutherland also recently canceled his upcoming tour, also admitting that it was due to low ticket sales: “With great disappointment I am going to have to cancel the US leg of my tour due to very low ticket sales. I don’t think it’s fair to the people who have bought tickets, or the venues, to play half empty houses.” The problem has become so widespread in the music industry that it’s gotten its own name, being dubbed “blue dot fever” because of all the blue dots showing available seats when you go to buy tickets. And it’s hard to say what’s causing it, whether it’s the economy or simply a weakening of the massive demand for concerts that we saw over the past couple years post-COVID. And to be clear, I guess it’s possible that Kacey had other reasons for canceling her shows. But it certainly appears likely that she too fell victim to the blue dot fever. Nothing that a quick sit on the washing machine can’t fix.The post Kacey Musgraves Cancels Three Shows, Including Opening Night, On Upcoming ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Tour first appeared on Whiskey Riff.