Kraftwerk Concert Canceled Due to Electronic Music Show Ban by Buenos Aires Government

In April, after five people died from taking drugs at Buenos Aires’ Time Warp festival, the Argentine government implemented a ban on electronic music concerts (defined as shows that use “synthesizers or samplers as their primary instrument”). A Kraftwerk show was already on the books for Nov. 23, and the concert organizers hoped they might be able to squeak by, since it was supposed to be relatively tame: short, all-ages and alcohol-free.

Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. According to the Argentine newspaper Clarín, the city has now forced Kraftwerk to cancel the show. What’s more, Move Concerts had already sold 70 percent of the available tickets.

Even though the issue of drug- and alcohol-related deaths at concerts is serious, it’s certainly ridiculous to ban the shows themselves. “You cannot prosecute and punish a musical genre because of one negligent employer,” said Federico Arancibia, a founder of Argentina’s Asociación Civil de Música Electrónica. (Well, you shouldn’t, but apparently you can.)

Ticketholders can still hold out some hope: organizers are trying to move the concert to a different city.