The Vallejo, California rap group SOB x RBE broke up in 2019, the same year that former member Lul G was arrested for murder. In July, the group returned with the reunion single "Ten Summers," their first in seven years. The group gave their first reunion performance at the Back 2 The Bay fest on Aug. 13, and they were supposed to give their second on Saturday at the New West Coast Festival, a one-day fest in Salt Lake City. But the group's set was canceled hours before it was slated to happen, with festival organizers citing "threats made to our team."
In a statement that has since been deleted from the festival's Instagram, New West Coast Festival organizers wrote, "After being threatened, we no longer feel safe having the artist or their entourage at our festival. The conduct we experienced did not meet the level of professionalism, respect, or cooperation we expect from the artists and teams we work with."
On their own Instagram, SOB x RBE offered a very different story, writing, "Even after the promoter told us he can't pay us, we offered to perform for free since so many of y'all came out and he refused." They also offered to help fans who bought tickets to see the group get refunded.
In a post that SOB x RBE reshared on Stories, their agent Jason Gazzini wrote, "Some of you promoters should stick to 300 cap rooms. You're messing up the ecosystem!" He also promised "something special that's getting announced next week on a show that will actually happen" for SOB x RBE fans in Utah.
The festival still happened, and Shoreline Mafia, the fellow West Coast underground rap group whose membership includes AI hitmaker Fenix Flexin, headlined, while SOB x RBE did a surprise late-night pop-up performance.
It has been a chaotic few weeks for Salt Lake City festivals, between this and the cancellation of the inaugural Yours Always fest, which was set to feature headliners Benson Boone and Sombr.
