The previously announced U.S. tour by veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS was canceled after the band was denied entry to the United States Tuesday night at a Chicago airport, apparently due to the new immigration policies from the Trump administration. The news of the tour's cancelation was broken by the Chicago club Reggies, where LOUDNESS was scheduled to perform Wednesday night. A statement on the venue's Facebook page read: "Due to the new strict policies the U.S. government has placed on foreigners entering the country, LOUDNESS was denied entry into the United States and sent back home this morning. All shows on the U.S. tour are canceled. Refunds for Wednesday’s show will be issued at original point of sale." LOUDNESS frontman Minoru Niihara confirmed that the tour was scrapped in a post on his blog. He wrote: "I stayed in Chicago for three hours and returned home." The singer added that neither he nor the band as a whole had ever before been denied entry to the United States. LOUDNESS's agency Katana Music told Japan Today that the band was able to enter the United States in the past with proper invitation letters but that the immigration this time requested visas for the musicians. Reggies owner Robby Glick told the Chicago Tribune that he spoke to the band's PR rep who cited an issue with "exemption papers," which were acceptable for entry the last time the band visited the U.S., but denied this time around. "It's a little bit harder," said Glick. "I don't know if it's a product of the administration or if LOUDNESS was flying by the seat of their pants, but there is a difference since our new president came in."
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