American-Yemeni YouTube star Adam Saleh has gone on a rant against the organisers of RedFestDXB and has said he will not be performing at festival today in a vlog that he uploaded last night. The comedian and singer, who makes videos on issues affecting Arabs, was due to perform a set before Demi Lovato on the second day of the RedFestDXB weekend concerts.
The second day of the festival that is held at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre every year had to be cancelled yesterday because of the rough weather conditions. Organisers said that the concerts would be rescheduled for today from 2pm and tickets holders have been advised to follow the festival’s social media channels for updates.
However, in his video, Saleh says the organisers were rude to him and hadn’t updated him about the new timings of the postponed shows. The comedian is on a Middle Eastern tour and Dubai was supposed to be his last stop.
“They were so rude to my management…and they would hang up the phone,” says Saleh in the video, which has been viewed over 146,000 times already.
“If they didn’t want me there, they could have just told me that in the first place.”
In the 9-minute video the comedian says he was disappointed because he had to cancel his tour in Kuwait to accommodate dates for Dubai. “I feel like I’m looked down upon because I’m a YouTuber.”
Saleh goes on to say that he is so embarrassed by the way he has been treated that even if he is given a slot to perform today he would decline.
He also apologised to fans for cancelling the show.
Update: In a statement, the RedFestDXB organisers - Arabian Radio Network and Done Events - have said that time pressure from moving the second day of the festival meant that they had to cancel some performances.
“We wanted to ensure the artists finished on stage by around 8pm so parents can bring their kids and be home ready for school the next day,” they said in a statement. “As a result we had no option than to limit some of the appearances from our special guests including Adam Saleh to ensure all artists performing had time to prepare their full production and sound checks. We would have loved to have had Adam appear at the festival but due to the rescheduling this wasn’t possible.“
aahmed@thenational.com
