Country/rock artist River Shook has cancelled two dates on their current tour because of poor ticket sales, sharing the news candidly on Instagram rather than offering an excuse. Shook framed the cancellations as symptomatic of a wider difficulty facing live music, stating that "this is an industry-wide problem" affecting performers "at all different levels and tiers." The admission is notable because it comes from an artist openly acknowledging commercial pressures that many musicians tend to conceal.

The dropped shows were in Greenville and Nashville, though Shook stressed that the remainder of the tour will go ahead and urged fans to buy tickets early to help. Shook, who said they have toured for more than a decade without previously cancelling a show for this reason, has just released a self-titled debut solo album. The tour began on 25 June in Memphis and has since visited Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky; Shook is also opening for the Old 97's from 21 July in Roswell, New Mexico, with a second solo leg starting in August featuring dates in Washington D.C., Toronto and Pittsburgh.