Country singer Ella Langley canceled her sold-out Friday night concert at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, citing a security threat against fans, venue staff and her team. Tulsa police said their searches found no credible danger and that the performers chose to cancel anyway, according to reports from NBC News, Fox News and ABC News.
Ticket holders will get information about refunds, according to a statement from the venue. The incident is under investigation, and ABC News reported that a spokesperson said the FBI is assisting.
Langley, 27, announced the cancellation on Instagram. She wrote that the decision was made on the advice of local authorities, the venue and her security team, and that it involved a “serious security threat.” She did not disclose the nature of the threat, Fox News reported.
She apologized to fans, acknowledging the time, travel and money they put into attending a show. She wrote that the decision was not made lightly and that fan safety matters more to her than anything else.
The BOK Center issued a matching statement. It said that after careful consideration, officials determined the show could not go forward, and it apologized to fans who planned to attend. The venue said refund details and more information would come as soon as possible.
The Tulsa Police Department gave a different account of the risk. In a Facebook post, the department said a call was made threatening the lives of people attending the event. According to the post, a K-9 unit, bomb team, patrol officers and venue security had already swept the building before the event and found nothing dangerous.
ABC News reported that police later received a call warning that people at the event could be seriously harmed by gunfire and bombs. In a Facebook video, Capt. Richard Meulenberg said officers returned and searched again with bomb-detection dogs. Police said the building and surrounding area were swept a second time and again turned up “no credible threat.”
Police said they told Langley’s staff about those findings, but the performers decided to cancel. NBC News reported that police also apologized to people who came to the arena. The department said that those behind the threat disrupted the event and ruined the evening for thousands of people.
The two statements are not necessarily in conflict. Langley described the threat as serious and said her decision followed advice from authorities, the venue and her security team. Police say the threat was not found to be credible and that they communicated this to her staff before the cancellation. The reports do not detail who advised what at which point, or what the caller said beyond the descriptions above.
For people who had tickets, the immediate effect is the loss of the show and a wait for refund instructions. Neither the venue nor Langley had given a timeline beyond saying the details would be shared soon.
The cancellation also raises questions for other fans on the Dandelion Tour, which supports Langley’s second studio album, “Dandelion.” According to Fox News, the arena tour began May 7 in Toledo, Ohio, and was extended with 21 additional dates. ABC News reported that Langley played Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado earlier in the week. Her next scheduled date is Oct. 10 in Lubbock, Texas, followed by two nights at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The tour is set to end Oct. 31 at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota. None of the reports said whether those dates would change.
Tulsa police said the incident remains under investigation, and the FBI is assisting, though the spokesperson offered no further details. Fox News said it had contacted Langley’s representative and the BOK Center for additional comment. Refund information from the venue is still to come.
Langley is also in the spotlight for her single “Choosin’ Texas.” ABC News reported it became the longest-running No. 1 song in Billboard Hot 100 history in September, with 23 weeks at the top.