Just a few weeks after the release of his widely loved and critically acclaimed new album, God is Partying — which many (including this writer) are hailing as the best work of his career — Andrew W.K. has abruptly disappeared from the public eye, canceling his upcoming tour dates and deleting all of his social media accounts.
Mr. Wilkes-Krier, of course, is no stranger to bizarre behavior, having been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories over the years, including the allegation that there have been more than one actor playing the role of Andrew W.K. We’re NOT going down that rabbit hole today, though. I swear, we’re not…
Things began getting strange this time around when W.K. abruptly canceled his planned fall tour dates. That in itself wouldn’t be odd — plenty of artists are doing the same right now on account of Covid-19 — but in hindsight, it’s relevant. In a since deleted Facebook post, he, or whoever handles his socials, said:
“ANDREW W.K.’s 2021 tour dates are being rescheduled for 2022. All tickets for 2021 will be honored, and refunds will be available at the point of purchase through September 27th.”
At the time, he still planned to perform at Furnace Fest, the massive three-day celebration that took place in Birmingham, AL from September 26 through 28 that also featured Killswitch Engage, Underoath, Taking Back Sunday, and a crapload of bands who cut their teeth in the early ’00s metalcore and metal scenes. The night before Andrew’s scheduled performance, Furnace Fest announced that he wouldn’t be making it. Bummer. But again, not entirely unexpected.
The next day, Sunday, September 27, W.K.’s fans noticed that he’d deleted all of his social media accounts. And they remain offline to this day.
And that’s all we know. This being the internet, with the extra layer of Andrew W.K. conspiracy crazies, folks are doing all kinds of speculating, ranging from Covid-19 fear/infection to a directive from his girlfriend, the actress Kat Dennings (the two announced their engagement in May), to some kind of beef with W.K.’s new record label, Napalm, to the usual Steev Mike stuff, to a publicity stunt… and so on and so forth.
For our part, MetalSucks reached out to Napalm Records yesterday and did not receive a response.
So speculate away in the comments, as if you need an invitation. We certainly hope Andrew is doing alright, and that he’ll reappear soon safe and healthy.
It’s worth noting that rescheduled tour dates for September 2022 do now show up on Ticketmaster.
You can watch the giant-sized video for “Everybody Sins” from God is Partying below (order here).