This is why ZZ Top canceled Columbia show

So why did ZZ Top cancel their SC State Fair appearance? The reason has become more clear.

Band member Dusty Hill, 68, is ill, a concert promoter told WTVR in Richmond, Va., where the band also canceled a show.

The band was slated to perform at the Pepsi Grandstand at the SC State Fair as the headliner on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The band’s management contacted fair officials on Monday, stating that the group was not only canceling this performance but the rest of their tour.

“Upcoming scheduled dates on ZZ Top’s current tour...have been suspended,” the promoter said. “ZZ Top’s cornerstone bass guitarist, Dusty Hill, is addressing a stomach ailment and is following medical directive to lay low for the next few weeks.”

When asked if the fair would invite them back to perform in the future, Bertram Rantin, public relations coordinator, had this to say:

“Those decisions are made going forward and that would be up to future management. The fair would not make a knee jerk decision but I’m not in a position to say.”

Fans took to our Facebook page to voice their frustrations.

“They have canceled the fair twice and Carolina Rebellion in 2016. Know they are up there in age, but geesh,” said Michael Storm Jr.

Robert Patterson, who says he grew up loving their music, added “performing at SC State Fair pretty well tells you state of their career right now. Thanks for the memories from the ’70s.”

The fan who seemed to take it the hardest was Andreas Herzog.

“Nooooooo! This time I really thought it would happen! I was so looking forward to seeing them,” he said.

Fans speculated the reason behind the cancellation was due to one member breaking their hip. That was true in 2014 when they canceled on the fair the first time when Hill injured his hip after he “took a misstep on his tour bus”.

ZZ Top was one of six musical acts slated to perform this year. The last time they played in Columbia was on Feb. 21 of this year at The Township Auditorium. Lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons, 67, was in town last November for the Rockin’ 4 Relief Concert at the Columbia Historic Speedway in Cayce.

All ZZ Top tickets purchased for the SC State Fair online will be refunded. The tickets can still be used for admission any day of the fair, which continues through Sunday, Oct. 22.

This year’s remaining concerts include TobyMac at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 and Sabrina Carpenter at 5 p.m. Oct. 22. Carpenter and TobyMac tickets are $15. All Grandstand tickets include fair admission. They can be purchased at www.scstatefair.org or at the Pepsi Grandstand Box office 90 minutes prior to each concert, if available.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 3:47 PM with the headline "This is why ZZ Top canceled Columbia show."