The Black Keys have mirrored on the cancellation of their whole 2024 North America tour, commenting on the “toxic” nature of the modern-day music trade.

When the duo – comprising guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney – introduced the cancellation of their 2024 tour supporting Ohio Gamers, many speculated it was because of poor ticket gross sales. Carney later expressed dissatisfaction with the band’s administration, saying they’d booked “rooms they shouldn’t have been in”.

“Every little thing went tits up,” Carney tells The Instances, elaborating additional on the explanations for the tour’s cancellation.

“Stay Nation owns a chunk of just about each administration firm, and so they personal Ticketmaster, and so they even scalp their very own tickets – which they simply bought sued for [by the Federal Trade Commission in September 2025].

“So I’m an artist managed by Stay Nation, making an attempt to barter with Stay Nation, being promoted and ticketed by Stay Nation? It’s insane, man!”

The scenario finally led the duo to have to fireplace their crew months earlier than the trek was scheduled to start out.

“We needed to hearth our complete crew. Why? As a result of Stay Nation cancelled 4 months earlier than the primary present with no single name,” Carney continues. “It’s my dumb ass for being concerned on this silly trade. It’s evil.”

Guitarist Dan Auerbach chimes in: “Toxic.”

Elsewhere, the duo converse on the present state of social media, and the way artists are considerably required to play the social media recreation.

“If you get well-known actual fast, you’re immediately surrounded by individuals who appear to be they’re your buddies however they’re not,” Carney says.

“That’s whenever you begin asking your self, what does all of it imply? I don’t wish to be a content material creator. I don’t suppose it’s cool to be on Instagram on a regular basis. We’re within the pure state of issues, which you’ll be able to hear on the primary album – and the final.”

“Junior Kimbrough [legendary blues musician] by no means made a TikTok video,” Auerbach provides.

View a full checklist of upcoming Black Keys tour dates by way of their official web site.

Sam is the Affiliate Information Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Totally immersed in music tradition for almost all of his life, Sam has performed guitar for 20 years, studied music know-how and manufacturing at college, and in addition written for the likes of Guitar World, Complete Guitar, Steel Hammer and MusicRadar.