
Lord Buffalo cancel tour after drummer “forcibly removed from plane” and detained by US border control
Texas-based rock band Lord Buffalo have cancelled their European tour after their drummer was “forcibly removed” from the group’s flight to Europe earlier this week.
Their drummer, Yamal Said, is a Mexican citizen but also a permanent United States resident with a green card. Lord Buffalo claims to have had no contact with Said for two days following the incident, which occurred on May 12th.
The band shared on Instagram on May 14th: “We are heartbroken to announce we have to cancel our upcoming European tour. Our drummer, Yamal Said, who is a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States (green card holder) was forcibly removed from our flight to Europe by Customs and Border Patrol at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday May 12.”
Lord Buffalo continued: “He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him. We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release.”
On the difficult decision to cancel the tour, the group said, “We are devastated to cancel this tour but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom.”
In a later update, also on May 14th, Lord Buffalo confirmed that Said had “secured the legal representation he needs”.
They added: “We are waiting to hear what comes next. We want to reiterate that we truly don’t know what’s going on. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can. At this time the family asks for privacy as they navigate the situation.”
Said has lived in Austin since the 1980s and had previously been a member of the local band, the Black, before Lord Buffalo.
Their eight-date European tour with the Swedish band Orsak:Oslo was scheduled to begin in the Netherlands on May 15th before visiting Denmark, Germany, Norway and concluding in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, on May 23rd.
In March, punk band UK Subs was denied entry into the United States. The band’s bassist, Alvin Gibbs, revealed the details of the band’s deportation and recollected the events that took place when the punk band landed at LAX Airport, sharing, “There were two reasons given: first, they claimed I did not have the correct visa for entry; second, there was another unspecified issue that they refused to disclose.”
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