The Whigs, an Athens-based rock band, cancelled a Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) in-studio live performance on July 30, according to #SaveWRAS’ website.
Mikey Johnson, founder of the #SaveWRAS Facebook page, posted a call to action asking supporters to email the band’s management and refuse GPB’s invitation, according to the #SaveWRAS website.
“WINNING! Last night at about 1am, we asked that you contact The Whigs and ask them not to play GPB’s live studio show. Well…it worked! The band cancelled the gig!!!,” #SaveWRAS’ website states.
The band’s van was outside of GPB but thereafter members chose not to play, according to Johnson.
“We approached the van and they rolled down the window. We asked them if they were going to play and we were told that they were probably going to cancel. We introduced ourselves and told them we were with SaveWRAS. They were extremely nice and we could tell this whole thing had blind-sided them. They did not want to be in the middle of a controversy and did not want to hurt any relations with either side,” Johnson wrote on #SaveWRAS’ Facebook page.
Johnson also said the cancellation was a substantial win for Album 88.
“…The band made a bold statement. They were already at GPB so canceling when they did was surprising,” he said.
Since The Whigs cancelled the in-studio performance at GPB more than 60 people have commented on the band’s wall in support of their decision, according to The Whigs’ Facebook page.
Ryan Kingsbury, The Whigs’ manager, said the musicians prefer not to comment.
The next #SaveWRAS page event will take place on Aug. 25, according to Johnson.
