Ed Sheeran, who was originally scheduled to play at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara as part of a 2018 tour, has cancelled his Bay Area performance.
The show, which was his only stop in the Bay Area, was cancelled because of Santa Clara's curfew laws, which would have forced Sheeran to end his show at 10 p.m. The conflict between the show's producers and the city of Santa Clara seems, oddly enough, to be a somewhat heated one, as people are beginning to take sides. According to the Chron, 49ers president Al Guido came out against the curfew, saying, "Four thousand hardworking individuals have lost their right to work, residents have lost out on millions of dollars in revenue, and music lovers have been denied an opportunity to view a world-class concert."
The city is currently working out a way to possibly extend the curfew for the show, granting them an extra hour. But neighbors of the stadium aren't so sure about that, as CBS points out. One neighbor spoke about a U2 concert that took place at the stadium, which ended at 11 p.m. and resulted in a $1,000 fine for the band. The resident complained about the post-concert loiterers, saying, "The people don’t want to leave so they (the police) get the helicopters going. And helicopters are flying over the stadium and the neighborhood, and you can hear them."
NBC Bay Area says that Sheeran's agent balked at the curfew time, saying there would be "no way" they would be done at 10 p.m. Given that, one's left to wonder just how useful another hour would be.
"This potential concert loss is news to us," writes Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmore in a statement. Previously, the mayor was clashing with the 49ers organization over this very same issue for months now, with the Sheeran cancellation being just another in a long line of frustrations for the team, who stand to gain financially from the concert.
Related: U2 Concert Goes Past Curfew (10 PM) And Santa Clara Is Mad