The country trio The Chicks postponed a concert at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with just about ninety minutes’ notice before doors were set to open, leaving fans who had traveled from out of state with unusable tickets and no clear path to a refund.
The band, made up of Natalie Maines and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, cited illness as the reason for pushing the November 2 show back to November 4. The rescheduled date is set to be the final North American stop of the group’s 20th Anniversary Taking the Long Way tour.
The announcement came so late that many concertgoers only learned the show was off after they had already arrived at the Hollywood venue. More than 300 fans vented their frustration on social media in the hours that followed.
One fan, who had traveled up from San Diego and booked non-refundable lodging, wrote online that announcing the change ninety minutes before doors was “WILD.” Another said simply, “Flew in from Oklahoma for this.”
Others described discovering the postponement only after reaching the parking garage. “Didn’t find out until in the parking garage with my wife. And now tickets won’t be refunded because tonight wasn’t ‘cancelled,'” one fan wrote. Another said they drove four hours, took time off work, booked a hotel and bought an outfit for the show, only to “drive up to the venue to read the sign.”
Because the show was postponed rather than canceled outright, many ticketholders who bought through resale platforms such as StubHub, SeatGeek and Gametime found they did not qualify for the automatic refunds those services typically issue for canceled events. One fan wrote that they stood to lose more than $1,200 because the show was rescheduled instead of scrapped, leaving relisting the ticket as the only option to recoup any money. Another fan who had already paid for flights and a hotel asked the band directly to cancel so ticket platforms would issue refunds.
Several fans tied their frustration to the broader cost of travel and tickets right now. “This is not the economy for this,” one wrote. Another pressed the band: “CANCEL THE SHOW!!! Please! Sorry y’all are sick but your fans are out time and money with this reschedule nonsense.”
One fan addressed frontwoman Natalie Maines directly, writing that people had gone out of their way to attend and that the late decision “cost us money.”
The episode highlights a gap in consumer protection that touring fans across the country regularly run into: when an event is postponed rather than canceled, ticket resale platforms’ refund policies often leave buyers with no recourse, even when the original purchase was made in good faith and travel costs were already sunk.
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