AKP-run municipality cancels Madrigal concert! The reason comes as no surprise...
The concert by the band Madrigal, which was scheduled to perform as part of the Youth Festival organized by the Rize Municipality, has been canceled due to past social media posts by guitarist Ceyhun Kaan Karakaş regarding President Erdoğan.
12punto
Preparations had begun months in advance for the Youth Festival that the Rize Municipality was set to organize at the coastal landfill area as part of the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. In this context, it was announced that the popular music group Madrigal would take the stage on Monday, May 19, at 21:30. However, the planned concert was canceled just days before the event.
The reason for the cancellation was the posts made by Ceyhun Kaan Karakaş, the guitarist and one of the founders of the band Madrigal, on various social media platforms in past years regarding AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Following these posts resurfacing, the Rize Municipality decided to cancel the concert.
In a mass SMS sent to citizens at 13:47, the municipality reminded them of the event program for the Youth Festival while also announcing that the Madrigal concert would no longer take place. This development caused a wide stir on social media and led to disappointment, particularly among young people.
On the other hand, there were those who reacted to the decision. CHP Fındıklı Mayor Ercüment Şahin Çervatoğlu stated that he stood with the band and made the following call:
"Today, we are currently faced with a new ban, a new fear. The band Madrigal, which is very popular among young people, had been invited to Rize by the Rize Municipality. But they were not allowed to perform because of a tweet. We are calling out to the Madrigal band.
Fındıklı is a town of freedoms. It is a district where everyone can express themselves for the sake of our future. It is a town, a district where we value our freedoms; come and meet with the youth here. Fındıklı will host you."