Fans of Harry Styles will now have to wait two nights or more to see their idol in concert in Chicago.
Thursday night’s concert, the first of six scheduled at the United Center between this weekend and next, is being rescheduled for Monday night “out of an abundance of caution” due to “band/crew illness,” according to a tweet from the United Center on Thursday afternoon. A spokesperson for Sony Music, Styles’ record label, said the singer was not affected.
Saturday night’s show will go on as scheduled, followed by the remaining concerts Oct. 9, 10 (rescheduled from Thursday), 13, 14 and 15. All shows are sold out.
All tickets for Thursday’s postponed show will be honored on Monday night; Ticketmaster is notifying those affected by the date change.
By Wednesday, diehard fans had already staked their place in line outside the arena — some who had arrived more than 48 hours in advance by that point — to obtain a coveted general admission “pit” wristband for Thursday’s show.
The news came as a shock to Baylee Kuk, 25, her sister and their two friends, who had camped outside of the United Center for nearly 40 hours to get close to the stage for Thursday’s show.
“We were actually about to put on our outfits and head back to the United Center,” Kuk said, adding that she met other campers who had flown in from as far as Hawaii for the concert. “Some people are really screwed,” she said.
Luckily, Kuk said she and her friends live in the Chicago area and will be able to come back for the rescheduled show Monday. They’ve confirmed with United Center officials that the wristbands they got Thursday morning for a prime pit spot will be honored for that show.
“I go to concerts all the time, and I’ve never experienced one getting canceled hours before,” Kuk said. “We’re just kind of taking some L’s.”
Kuk and her sister Chloee have tickets for Saturday’s show, and their friend Aubree Hayden has tickets for all six.
“We’ll be back,” Kuk said. “We’re just really hoping whoever is sick heals up and gets rested, and they’re OK. We’re just really worried because this doesn’t happen with Harry shows. He’s a pretty serious performer. We hope everything’s OK.”
Contributing: Emmanuel Camarillo