Lord Buffalo Cancels Tour After Border Patrol ‘Forcibly Removed' Mexican Drummer From Flight
Lord Buffalo has canceled its European tour after border patrol 'forcibly removed' band member Yamal Said, a Mexican citizen, from a flight — despite the drummer being a green-card holder and 'lawful permanent resident' of the United States — according to a statement on the Texas band's Instagram.
With just one day left before their trek had been scheduled to kick off Thursday (May 15) in the Netherlands, the group members wrote in their joint statement that, moments before they'd been supposed to take off for Europe on Monday (May 12), their bandmate was escorted off the plane at at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. 'He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,' they wrote, noting that they are 'heartbroken' to have to cancel the tour as a result.
More from Billboard
'People Are Scared': How Trump's Immigration Policies Are Affecting Latin Music
Adam David Delivers Teddy Swims' 'Lose Control' on 'The Voice' as Finalists Are Set
Blake Shelton Drops 'Texas' on 'Fallon,' Says Post Malone Fueled His Return
'We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release,' the band continued in the post. 'We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal's safety and freedom. We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future.'
In an update to the caption posted later Thursday afternoon, Lord Buffalo thanked fans for their 'outpouring of support' and shared that Yamal had 'secured the legal representation he needs.' 'We are waiting to hear what comes next,' the band added. 'We want to reiterate that we truly don't know what's going on. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can. At this time the family asks for privacy as they navigate the situation.'
Billboard has reached out to the band's reps and the DFW International Airport for comment.
According to Lord Buffalo's website, the Americana rockers were slated to play eight total dates across Europe. Following their kickoff performance in Heerlen, they'd planned on spending the month of May traveling through cities in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
In the group's absence, tourmates Orsak:Oslo will still play at all of their scheduled dates. 'We urge everyone to go see this amazing band and support them over the next couple weeks,' Lord Buffalo added in its statement.
The announcement comes at a tense time in American immigration politics, with Donald Trump pledging to carry out mass deportations as part of his presidency when he entered office in January. As reported by Billboard, the administration's policies have had a particular effect on the Latin music industry, with many artists sharing that they've seen a distinct drop in attendance levels due to concertgoers fearing deportation.
The twice-impeached POTUS' crackdowns on travel and immigration have also impacted the trans community. In January, Trump signed an executive order requiring that travel documents such as passports and visas display a person's sex assigned at birth, after which U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) announced in April that it would only recognize biological sex on immigration forms going forward. As a result, trans musicians — such as Bells Larsen, who was forced to cancel his American shows due to the change — have similarly struggled to tour in the U.S.
See Lord Buffalo's statement below.
Best of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Twelve Moons' Debuts First-Look Clip Ahead of Tribeca Premiere, Director Victoria Franco Speaks About Societal Pressures on Women (EXCLUSIVE)
'Twelve Moons,' the feature debut of Mexican filmmaker Victoria Franco, premieres on Saturday in the International Narrative Competition of Tribeca Festival. Variety debuts an exclusive first clip from the film and speaks to the director. The film stars acclaimed Mexican actor Ana de la Reguera, whose career bridges Hollywood and Latin American cinema, alongside Ariel Award winner Enrique Arreola. Filmmaker Michel Franco, Victoria's brother, is a producer on the film, and the Match Factory is handling international sales. More from Variety 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' Directors Share Inspirational Message From Ailing Singer: 'He Will Be Back' Tribeca Festival: Miley Cyrus' 'Something Beautiful,' Barbara Walters Doc and 11 Other Films We're Excited to See 'The Shadow Scholars,' Executive Produced by Steve McQueen, Debuts Trailer Ahead of North American Premiere at Tribeca (EXCLUSIVE) 'Twelve Moons' follows Sofia, a 40-year-old architect in Mexico City, who has suffered a devastating loss, and must navigate her complex emotions while trying to stay true to herself. As she struggles with her fertility and identity as a woman, both her personal and professional life begin to deteriorate forcing her to look inward to find the light that will lead her forward. In the clip, we see that Sofia has an issue with alcohol consumption, and in the film, we discover she is also a drug user. 'For me, it's really important to portray people who don't feel comfortable with social conventions,' Franco says. 'There are many people who don't feel that they are part of society but feel societal pressure. And as a woman, there is the added pressure to have a child, have a family, be the perfect woman, and I really admire people who are really authentic and don't give in to these pressures.' Sofia is portrayed with empathy and her alcohol and drug dependency should be seen as a 'disease,' Franco says. It is Sofia's way of relaxing when faced with societal expectations and the pressure to conform – to feel 'normal,' overcome her insecurity, and appear self-confident. Unable to conceive, Sofia's life – both personal and professional – starts to unravel. 'She has no boundaries, so she doesn't know how to separate her professional and personal life, and she takes them both so seriously,' the director says. 'She feels that through her architecture, her feelings can become connected with other people. She tries to work in a way that is parallel to her feelings. Architecture is very important in this film, because I portray many places that are representing her feelings through their architecture.' Franco describes Sofia as an 'ethical' architect who tries to create buildings that encourage a feeling of freedom in those who inhabit them. We see her visiting buildings in Mexico City that exemplify that approach, like those designed by the architect Luis Barragán. 'She fights to create spaces that allow people to have more liberty within them. There's a conversation where she's arguing about putting fewer parking lots in order to create more green spaces so people can be happier in these places. 'I love Luis Barragán, who talks about a spiritual architecture, about architecture where you can feel the connection between the space and the mind, and you can feel connected with it, and it's the architecture of silence too. He won the Pritzker Prize, and his acceptance speech was amazing. It's beautiful.' Speaking about Ana de la Reguera, Franco says: 'Ana has great presence. She has a lovely face. She's a person with a deep, deep soul. And when I talked to her about the script, I felt that she was very connected with the matter of being a woman in her 40s and the social demands that people make. 'And she's an actress who has like 20 years of experience, so I was really amazed when we were talking and playing around, like, 'Imagine the camera is here, and what would you do?,' and she was improvising and doing things that I was amazed by, because sometimes I felt that she had known the character for her entire life, like she has lived with her.' Regarding the cinematography, she comments: 'First of all, I decided that the movie should be black and white, so the spectator had no distractions with the colors, and he could be really connected with the emotions and the state of mind of the character. 'And also, the movie is about architecture as well, so it's very geometrical. We looked for many locations that were really hard to get permission to film there, but we made it. There's a beautiful fountain by Isamu Noguchi, the Japanese artist, for example. 'The cinematographer, Sergio Armstrong G., is a genius. We improvised a lot. We never felt that we were in control of everything. We played with the freedom of being in the moment and sensing where to put the camera. We didn't have a shooting list of everything, and I felt so free. If I didn't have this cinematographer, Sergio, it would be pretty difficult, because I was pretty sure of the emotional state and everything but the visual things… it was Sergio who put everything together to make the movie look like the state of mind of the character.' As in film noir, the film uses light and shade to reflect the internal landscape of the character, but there were other cinematic influences. 'Many times, I felt inspired by Italian Neo Realism, because we didn't have much budget for lighting, but with its realism sometimes the film feels like a documentary, and the camera was very, very humbled, because we didn't need so much lighting to make it look beautiful. And the shadows and the geometric forms are so important.' There are similarities to how she and her brother work, she says. 'We both film chronologically. That was very helpful, because the actress was really involved with the process of the character and the emotions, and we improvised a lot, so the script changed a lot while shooting. Michel also does that, so I believe we're similar in terms of production.' She is full of praise for her brother's contribution as a producer. 'I think he was the best producer because he really got my back, and he just cares about the creativity and the process that I wanted, and he never gave up, for example, in getting some locations. Even though we didn't have enough money, he'd fight for everything. So, it was a paradise working with him.' Next up for Franco, she says, is a film about a teenager in New York, for which she is writing the screenplay now. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eurovision faces pressure from EU lawmakers over ‘rigged' televoting
A group of European lawmakers has urged Eurovision organisers to release full voting data on this year's song contest, citing growing concerns over manipulation raised by broadcasters across several countries. View on euronews
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
DDG's Temporary Restraining Order Against Halle Bailey Denied
On Wednesday (June 4), DDG requested an emergency hearing in an attempt to block Halle Bailey from traveling internationally with their son, Halo. He countered her previous domestic violence accusations by filing for a restraining order of his own, but his request was not approved. Bailey is set to leave to Italy with their one-year-old this weekend for a few months as she shoots a film. TMZ reported yesterday the Michigan rapper filed a motion against his ex-girlfriend, claiming she poses an 'imminent emotional and psychological risk' to the child. He included several alleged incidents that would back up his assertions, if true. DDG wrote about a time Halle took his gun and ran out of his house, said she would have an abortion behind his back, and would text him concerning messages regarding her mental health. 'In or about August 2023, during a particularly volatile argument, petitioner became enraged and threatened to end her life using my legally owned firearm. Without my consent, she took the weapon and left the house,' wrote DDG in a declaration attached to his court filing, per Billboard. 'This incident was one of several in which petitioner's actions posed a serious threat to her own safety and the safety of our son by creating an environment of emotional distress and danger within the home.' The rapper also claimed Halle sent 'a series of alarming text messages threatening to kill herself and suggesting that their infant son, Halo, might also be harmed.' In May, Halle was granted a temporary restraining order against DDG after accusing him of abuse. She cited an incident where he allegedly smashed her head against a steering wheel during an argument, said he often referred to her as a 'b**ch' or 'evil,' and rallied his supporters to bad-mouth her publicly. The Little Mermaid actress addressed her Italy travel plans in her original complaint, which was approved on May 15. 'I have family and a nanny who will be traveling with me to care for Halo while I am working,' Halle wrote in the court documents. The former couple went public in March 2022 and had a child together in December 2023. See a full timeline of their relationship here. More from DDG Files Motion To Block Halle Bailey From Taking Their Son Abroad DDG's Brother Fights Dream Con Attendee For "Doo Doo Garbage" Insult DDG Fires Back At Soulja Boy's Request To "Get In The Ring"
