(CelebrityAccess) — Reggae icon Ziggy Marley has pulled out of the upcoming Womad New Zealand world music festival due to personal obligations.
“I would like to apologize to all the music fans in New Zealand and Australia. Unfortunately, I won’t be making it down there for the Womad music festival next week,” he said in a video posted to his social media.
“I had some unforeseen family responsibilities that came up and I have to take care of it,” he added.
Marley was scheduled to headline the festival’s opening night on Friday, March 13th.
Emere Wano, the Director of the New Zealand edition of the festival stated:
“We are of course disappointed that Ziggy will no longer be joining us at WOMAD NZ 2020, but we understand and respect his decision that whānau come first in this situation.”
“We are working quickly to secure a new artist to fill Ziggy’s Friday night timeslot, and we will announce the new artist in the coming days.”
Additionally, the festival reported that South Korean percussionist and folk artist Kim So Ra has dropped out of the festival due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19 coronavirus.
“While this means changes to our schedule, we are very much looking forward to welcoming people to the 16th WOMAD here in Taranaki,” Wano said.
The three-day Womad New Zealand kicks off on March 13 in New Plymouth.
