Sunday, 10:30 am EST Update: According to NY Daily News, the bomb threat was a hoax from a 26-year-old male, Trevor Ingram, who e-mailed event organizers a threatening message ahead of the performance on Saturday afternoon. Ingram was taken into custody late last night and now faces charges from making a terroristic threat. Of course, the event space was searched, but Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said “no threat was found.”
South by Southwest is currently underway, as the city of Austin, Texas remains on high-alert after three package bombs have left two people dead and two injured in the last two weeks. While seemingly unrelated to the masses of people in town for the SXSW festivities, the series of events have led to severe discomfort in the city, as the culprit has yet to be identified.
On Saturday night, The Roots were forced to cancel their scheduled performance at SXSW due to a “security concern.” According to Rolling Stone, the security concern was a bomb threat. The show was set to feature Ludacris, Jessie Reyez, Rapsody, Dermot Kennedy, Tank and the Bangas, and more, at Fair Market.
“Due to a security concern, we have made the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s Bud Light x The Roots SXSW Jam,” an Anheuser-Busch representative told Rolling Stone in a statement. “After working proactively with SXSW, the Austin Police Department, and other authorities, Bud Light believes this is the best course of action to ensure the safety of our guests, staff and artists, and appreciate your understanding. We are truly sorry to have to cancel the event, but we felt it was necessary to take all safety precautions.”
In public light, the festival’s organizers posted this message on Twitter: “The Bud Light x The Roots SXSW Jam at Fair Market has been canceled. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.” No other information was provided.