Tim, Festival Supreme, and The Great Visa Fuckuppery

I have some very disappointing / uncool / annoying news.

Due to a highly unlikely and incredibly frustrating sequence of shitty events, the visa I require to play in the US this weekend has not arrived. The rules in the US (and most countries, I guess) about performing without the right work visa are very strict, so I’m not allowed to appear at Festival Supreme on Saturday night.

I’m hugely disappointed, because it was going to be great fun: the line-up is spectacular, the vibe is going to be brilliant and I adore Jack Black and want very much to please him.

But most of all, I feel sick about letting down the people for whom seeing my set was a big reason for buying tickets. I know some of you are travelling a long way, I know some of you had to save up to afford the ticket price, I know you’re going to be pissed off at me. It’s a right pain in the arse.

Please believe me when I say we have done everything we can to solve this. My manager has actually been on the phone to senators trying to find a way to get around this problem. But the fact is, every now and then, it’s just going to happen. As you may know, I confirmed my inclusion on the festival bill only a few weeks ago, and although we had no reason to suspect getting a visa would be a problem, we had only a little room for error. Then a couple of things happened (understandable but rather maddening bureaucratic glitches) which we didn’t / couldn’t predict, and perhaps the Government shut-down slowed things up (I don’t actually know)… and here we are. Majorly bummed out. I’m sorry.

I know you’re going to have an amazing time anyway. There are so many fantastic acts on, and I’m gutted I’m not going to be there to see them. Even if, for some crazy reason, I was your main reason for going, you’ll have a brilliant time without me. You have to try to catch Beardyman, and Reggie, and Sarah Silverman, and Zach, and Tig, and Patton, and Garfunkel & Oates… well everyone you can. These are some of my favourite acts in the world and some of my dear friends. If you like my stuff, you will love so many acts there.

Also, I really want to do something to try to make this up to y’all. I can’t promise anything, because it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare, but could you do something for me? Try to keep hold of your ticket stub from Festival Supreme. OK? Or if you don’t think you can keep hold of it, take a selfie with your sad, sad face next to the ticket before you lose it. That way, we have some chance of putting on some sort of free compensatory gig next year. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I’m really sorry. I’ve unwittingly really fucked a lot of people around. And I was looking forward to this gig so much. Mortified.

Tim
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