Taylor Swift warns about future of live music: ‘No one knows what the touring landscape is going to look like’

Singer had postponed US and Brazil shows from Lover Fest tour to 2021

Taylor Swift has warned that the “near future” of live music remains unclear as she cancelled her forthcoming tour dates.

The singer was due to kick off Lover Fest, a concert tour supporting her seventh studio album Lover, last April. While the majority of dates were cancelled amid concerns regarding the pandemic, stadium shows in the US and Brazil were postponed until 2021.

However, a statement from Swift was shared on her website on Friday (26 February) announcing that the shows would not be going ahead after all.

“I love coming on here to tell you good news, or to share a new project with you,” she wrote. “It’s not my favourite thing in the world to have to tell you news I’m sad about. I’m so sorry, but I cannot reschedule the shows that we’ve postponed.

“Although refunds have been available since we first postponed the Lover Fest shows, many of you hung onto your tickets and I too hung onto the idea that we could reschedule.”

Swift on stage in 2019 (AFP via Getty Images)

Adding that she couldn’t wait until she and her fans could “safely be at shows together again”, Swift continued: “This is an unprecedented pandemic that has changed everyone’s plans and no one knows what the touring landscape is going to look like in the near future.

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“I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to see you in person as soon as I wanted to.”

Since the release of Lover in 2019, Swift has brought out two more surprise albums, Folklore and Evermore.

Meanwhile, the singer has been rerecording her back catalogue of music following a dispute with Scooter Braun over the rights to her masters.

A new version of her 2008 hit single “Love Story” was released this month, with the newly recorded album Fearless (Taylor’s Version), coming out in April.