House Of Blues has defended its decision to allow AS I LAY DYING to perform on its properties — despite the fact that the band's lead singer spent two years behind bars for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife. The nationwide House Of Blues chain, which is owned by Live Nation, the concert-promotion organization, was responding to a public outcry after AS I LAY DYING recently announced a new tour that includes seven shows at House Of Blues clubs across the country. "Though staff and management may not agree with particular performers appearing at our venues, ticket buyers have the right to purchase tickets or not purchase tickets," a House Of Blues spokesperson told the Boston Herald on Wednesday (July 24). Earlier this year, a Memphis concert venue canceled a AS I LAY DYING show after it faced online backlash for publicizing the band's booking. Organizers of this year's Resurrection Fest, which was held in Spain earlier this month, also removed the band from its billing. Last December, Tim Lambesis, who was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife, said that part of his life's work now is to undo the hurt he has caused. In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release. November saw AS I LAY DYING complete its first U.S. tour in five years and the band followed it up with a European run of shows. Prior to AS I LAY DYING's concert in Munich, Germany last December, Lambesis once again took to the band's Facebook page to say that he has reconstructed his life and rededicated himself to the principles of honesty and commitment to community necessary to garner public trust. AS I LAY DYING's 2018 single, "My Own Grave", marked the first fresh music from the band since it issued its sixth album, "Awakened", back in September 2012. Another single, "Redefined", arrived in April. The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since guitarist Nick Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014. AS I LAY DYING will embark on the "Shaped By Fire" U.S. headlining tour in the fall. The trek will kick off on November 15 at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada and conclude on December 14 at SOMA in San Diego, California.
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