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Texas country music singer Charley Crockett has cancelled the Canadian leg of his tour, including a stop in Saskatoon. He was denied entry into the country during the weekend due to a past drug conviction.
He was scheduled to play Saskatoon’s TCU place on Wednesday, followed by stops in Winnipeg, Windsor, Ont., Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Niagara Falls, Ont., before heading back to the U.S. He was also scheduled to play Calgary in July.
“Everybody’s got a past,” the 41-year-old singer-songwriter wrote on his Instagram account. “Mine’s still haunting me.”
Crockett was convicted in Virginia for felony possession and trafficking of marijuana in March 2016.
In his post, Crockett said he and his band tried to enter Canada via Vancouver and then Kelowna, B.C., but were denied entry under section 44(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Act because of the 2016 conviction.
Crockett toured Canada in 2024 and was in Toronto last summer playing at the RBC Amphitheatre. The last time he was in Saskatchewan was in the summer of 2023 at Country Thunder.
“I apologize to everyone affected,” Crockett wrote on Instagram. “I know I let y’all down. Canada’s such a beautiful country full of some of the best fans in the world, and I’ve had the best time of my life playing shows for y’all.”
Saskatchewan-based Jake Vaadeland and his band were set to open for Crockett on several of the tour locations.
“We’re very sorry we didn’t get a chance to play for you all and hope that we’ll see you folks again real soon,” Vaadeland said in an Instagram post.
Crockett is a country-folk musician, with 15 albums released since 2015. His newest record, scheduled to be released April 3, is Age Of The Ram. It’s part of his Sagebrush Trilogy, which includes the 2025 album Dollar a Day.
His 2026 North American tour kicked off in Seattle and will resume March 7 in Pennsylvania.
Local impact
Kirby Wirchenko, the director of theatre and programming at TCU Place, said the cancellation has an impact on the local arts, culture and the economy. He said that even though the venue was only acting as a rental for promoter Live Nation, the impact ripples through the entire community.
He said it affects the artist himself, as well as artists who were opening for him and performing with him throughout Canada. Wirchencko said the cancellation impacts local staff who lose a night of work and, most importantly, it hurts fans.
“When a cancellation happens, everybody loses,” Wirchenko said. “The audience is the big loser because they were excited … and it’s a real disappointment for the venue.”
Wirchenko had been looking forward to an “Americana roots week” at TCU Place, with Crockett’s performance sandwiched between East Coast artist Matt Anderson and Manitoba’s William Prince.
Wirchenko said refunds are being issued.
