PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On Monday, April 10, a concert in Downtown Portland was canceled due to bomb threats at a nearby music venue.
The concert, headlined by actress and pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, was initially to be held in the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom. But in late March, she announced that the venue had been upgraded to the Keller Auditorium.
Scheduled for 8 p.m. on Monday evening, the show started with opening act Spill Tab. About an hour after the performance, as first reported by Rolling Stone, a venue staff member announced that the headliner wouldn’t be taking the stage due to unforeseen circumstances.
Portland Police Bureau Lt. Nathan Sheppard later told KOIN 6 that employees at the Crystal Ballroom, the original concert space, received a phone call from an anonymous person who said they were going to “blow up” the venue.
According to Sheppard, PPB then contacted both venues and conducted extra patrols around the Crystal Ballroom due to the threat. The lieutenant says there was no boom at either space.
Rolling Stone reports that AEG Presents, the live entertainment company that promoted the show, chose to cancel the Keller Auditorium concert as a preventative measure.
“While the threat was not directed at Keller Auditorium specifically, Sabrina and event organizers agreed that out of an abundance of caution, the show be called off,” an AEG Presents representative told Rolling Stone. “Steps were taken to ensure that the audience exited the venue calmly, quickly, and safely.”
Shortly after her show was canceled, Carpenter apologized to fans via social media.
“I can’t tell you how much it breaks my heart, this is the last thing I wanted to do…” the singer wrote. “The venue is closing for the evening, please take care of yourselves and return home safely!”
Fans who purchased tickets directly through Portland’5 Center for the Arts or the Crystal Ballroom will be automatically refunded. Carpenter says her team plans on rescheduling the Portland show.