[UPDATE: Lizzo has also cancelled her performance at the State Capitol reopening party next Saturday, Aug. 12. She will be replaced by Cloud Cult.]
In past summers, there was a running joke in Minneapolis asking, "Which block party is Lizzo performing at this weekend?" The hip-hop hero has been absent from the scene so far this summer, however, and now she is pulling out of a big local gig this weekend.
Lizzo has abruptly cancelled her highly anticipated appearance Saturday at HazelFest, the popular nonprofit event celebrating sober living at the famed Hazelden Betty Ford treatment center in Center City.
Local pop-rockers Hippo Campus – who are certainly keeping up a high profile in Minnesota this year between last month's Bayfront gig in Duluth and their upcoming two-night stand at the State Fair bandshell – have stepped in as a replacement headliner on Saturday's HazelFest schedule, which also includes Lizzo's former tourmate Har Mar Superstar, Communist Daughter and Alex Rossi. The fifth annual lineup also originally featured local funk/soul greats Sonny Knight & the Lakers, but Knight died in June.
HazelFest's organizers only cited "unforeseen circumstances" as blame for the cancellation. Lizzo herself offered further explanation via Twitter, however, where she said she's bedridden and has "gotta take some time to get my mind and body right."
Now living in Los Angeles, the "Good As Hell" hitmaker has been in something of a transition mode this year, as she has steadily declined local interview requests and recently changed management companies from longtime rep Geoff Harrison (also Hippo Campus's and Low's manager) to Los Angeles-based Decibel Entertainment. She's also due to perform in St. Paul next weekend as part of the State Capitol grand reopening party with Polica on Aug. 12, but it's not clear if she will still be a part of that. Here's hoping we see and hear more from her soon.
Lizzo has still actively kept up her proud body-image campaign that started with her 2015 album "Big Grrrl, Small World," including a Vogue beauty piece that just posted yesterday.
An all-ages event that includes many kids activities and recovery speakers on the scenic grounds of Hazelden (about 45 minutes from Minneapolis), HazelFest goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 advance, $25 on site, and free for kids 12 and under. Click here for tickets and more info.
