?Kill gays? singer?s Columbus show moved to new venue

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus--Jamaican dancehall singer Buju Banton?s latest U.S. tour has felt the sting of LGBT protests, and cancellations continue to plague him.

Shows in Columbus and Cincinnati were both canceled following protests against the singer, whose most famous song, ?Boom Bye Bye,? promotes shooting gay men in the head, burning them with acid and setting them on fire.

But the Columbus show is back, at a new location. Originally slated for Lifestyles Pavilion, it has? been moved to the Alrosa Villa nightclub and a day earlier, October 2.

The date was left open by the cancellation of his Cincinnati stop, where he was to play Annie?s Entertainment Center on Kellogg Ave, just blocks from Adonis, a gay and lesbian nightclub.

In all, 13 shows have been canceled on the tour, although the new Columbus date and an October 21 Austin, Texas show were added.

Two other shows in Texas were nixed, one in Dallas and one in Houston. Austin is a relatively liberal town, and it?s unclear what reaction promoters will get from the populace, known for their left-wing politics and love of music.

Banton has also lost shows in Richmond, Va., Chicago, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tampa and Orlando. There was no Cleveland show.

Banton first came to prominence in 1988 with the release of ?Boom Bye Bye,? recorded when he was 15.

In 2004, he was charged with participating in a group attack on six gay men in Kingston, Jamaica, but was later acquitted.

He was a 2007 signatory of the Reggae Compassionate Act, a ?treaty? under which reggae and other Caribbean artists pledged not to perform songs with violent homophobic content, but he later denied having signed the document.

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