Avenged Sevenfold arranged a last-minute switch of venue when their set at Houston Open Air was called off in the face of lightning storms.
A7X were set to headline the festival on Sunday night, but organisers were forced to cancel day two of the event after conferring with meteorologists.
The NRG Park venue was evacuated in the interests of safety.
But A7X sprung swiftly into action to ensure their fans were not left disappointed. The band posted a message on Instagram saying “Houston Standby” while they tried to find an alternative venue.
Within an hour, they secured the White Oak Music Hall, roughly 15 miles from the festival site, and posted a second note announcing the show, which was on a first come, first served basis for all fans with a Houston Open Air ticket.
That night, A7X performed a 70-minute set to the packed 1200-capacity White Oak Music Hall.
The band say: “When the Houston Open Air Festival made the decision to cancel due to weather concerns we were so bummed to have to end the first round of tour on a sour note.
“We know our fans don’t give up easily and neither do we, so we scrambled to make last minute arrangements to play for as many of our Houston fans as we could.
“In the course of one hour our entire A7X crew was able to pack and transport all of our gear, find and rent out a venue, wrangle up a security team and put together a show for as many of our Houston fans as we could fit.
“Nearly every promoter and agent in the area said it was impossible. Thanks to our crew and the staff at the White Oak Music Hall we did the impossible and the show went on.”
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They continue: “We want to thank the spirited fans who showed up in Houston and helped end the first batch of shows on an amazing note. To those who travelled to see us and were not able to or those under the age of 18 we are really sorry about the situation.
“We tried to make the best out of a shitty situation for as many fans as we could.”
A full gallery of pictures from the re-arranged show can be viewed below.
Avenged Sevenfold’s tour continues this weekend. Frontman M Shadows recently admitted the release of their highly anticipated This Is Bat Country DVD is out of their hands amid legal wranglings with Warner Bros.
A free book entitled A Brief History Of Avenged Sevenfold comes bundled with issue 288 of Metal Hammer magazine – the 30th anniversary collectors’ special. It’s out now in print and via TeamRock+.
Avenged Sevenfold tour dates 2016⁄2017
Oct 01: Louisville Champions Park, KY
Oct 02: Janesville Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, WI
Oct 23: Sacramanto Discovery Park, CA
Jan 10: Glasgow SSE Hydro
Jan 12: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Jan 13: Birmingham Genting Arena
Jan 15: Sheffield Arena
Jan 16: Manchester Arena
Jan 18: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Jan 19: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Jan 21: London O2 Arena
Jan 22: London O2 Arena
Feb 12: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 15: Berlin Arena, Germany
Feb 16: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
Feb 18: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Feb 20: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Feb 21: Milan Forum, Italy
Feb 23: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 25: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 26: Zurich Halle 622, Austria
Feb 28: Lille Zenith Arena, France
Mar 01: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Mar 02: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France
Mar 04: Copenhagen Valby Hallen, Denmark
Mar 07: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
Mar 09: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
Mar 10: Oslo Telenor, Norway
Avenged Sevenfold: from hardcore outcasts to heavy metal heroes
