After Alter Bridge abruptly canceled their scheduled appearance at the Atlantico last night, February 2nd, the vennue management issued following statement via Instagram post (all translations provided by Metal Stop):
“Clarifications regarding the cancellation of the Alter Bridge concert scheduled for today, February 2, 2026, at Atlantico Live, the management of the venue clarifies the following.
The decision to cancel the date was taken exclusively by the artist’s production for reasons not attributable to the venue, with the stage already set up and subsequently to the access of the first group of attendees of Mark Tremonti’s guitar clinic.
With reference to communications that appeared on social networks which speak of alleged “safety issues,” Atlantico Live categorically denies such claims and specifies that the venue is fully compliant with all current regulations regarding safety, prevention, and the suitability of spaces for public performances.
The venue is regularly subject to inspections, checks, and periodic certifications, carried out by qualified technicians and professionals, as required by Italian regulations.It is further specified that the band Alter Bridge has already regularly performed twice at Atlantico Live, considering our venue always suitable to their standards.”
The Instagram post shown above prompted band’s manager Tim Tournier to reply on their post with the following comment:
“Hey everyone,
Tim here. For those who don’t know, I manage the band.I understand your frustration. The band shares it. We were at the venue all day doing everything possible to find a safe, acceptable way to make the show happen.
When that proved impossible, I made the decision to cancel the show. That responsibility ultimately falls on me.
All bands—Alter Bridge, Daughtry, and Sevendust—were present and ready to perform.
Upon arriving at the venue, we encountered multiple serious issues with the stage build. While I don’t build stages myself, I rely on a professional team. All three of our head riggers raised legitimate safety concerns.
I personally witnessed the venue’s trussing—the steel rigging that supports the lighting over the bands, crews, and fans—bending as the lighting rig was lifted. Despite being assured the stage was safe and even receiving a safety certificate, what I saw firsthand directly contradicted those claims.
During inspection, we also noted that the master truss was not making proper contact with its rigging points. The venue’s proposed solution was a piece of plywood wrapped in electrical tape, which they stated was “safe” and “good enough.” It was not.
I was not willing to risk the safety of the bands, their crews, local workers, or the fans to find out otherwise.
I’ve been doing this for 22 years and have worked on six of the seven continents. This situation was a first. I consulted with the band’s agent and all three bands and their teams. Everyone agreed: safety comes first.
With a heavy heart, I made the final call to cancel the show.
We love our Italian fans and were truly looking forward to playing for you. Unfortunately, it will have to be another time.
Lastly, I informed the promoter and venue owners that continuing to operate this venue without proper updates and legitimate safety inspections will result in a tragedy. I do not say that lightly.
That tragedy will not happen today—on my watch.
Humbly,
Tim TournierAlso – I posted photos in my stories proving you’re lying.”
Today, January 3rd, venue replied with a statement as a direct response to Tim Tournier comments. Their full statement is posted below:
“Atlantico Live expresses deep regret for what occurred and for the climate of strong tension and hostility that arose following the public statements by Mr. Tim Tournier.
We consider it necessary to clarify that the images and considerations circulated were presented in a decontextualized manner and without a real knowledge of the technical and structural operating methods of the Atlantico stage, as written by Mr. Tournier himself, generating a misleading narrative that does not reflect the reality of the facts.
We also consider it necessary to clarify that, in his subsequent statements, Mr. Tournier accused us of being liars, but his crew in fact attributed to the venue statements that do not correspond to the truth, going so far as to publicly claim that “the stage had collapsed,” a circumstance that never occurred and is disproven by the facts, by technical documentation, and by objective evidence, as well as by the photos published in the slides, where it is possible to see the stage with the entire band production already installed. This is an extremely serious accusation, which contributes to fueling an alarmist narrative and damaging the image of the venue. As further confirmation of what actually occurred, we report in the subsequent slides the detailed comment of a fan in attendance, published within a dedicated Facebook group, which reconstructs in a precise manner the unfolding of events. The author’s name will be appropriately obscured to protect their privacy.
Atlantico Live is a venue that has always placed safety as a priority value. The stage and support structures are regularly inspected, certified, and approved by a licensed structural engineer, as happens every year and, specifically, also on the day immediately preceding the concert, following hours of in-depth technical checks, documented and officially certified.
As further confirmation of this, at the explicit request of the band, a structural engineer was present in the venue also during the phases of instrument setup. The same professional certified, with official documentation, the correct stability of the structure, also making himself available to carry out further calculations and additional checks to provide every possible supplementary guarantee. The engineer present on site certified the stage and was the only expert in the field present on the day of the concert.
The statements referring to alleged risks of “tragedy” are therefore inappropriate and disproportionate, especially if made by those who openly declare that they do not deal with the design or construction of stages. Structural evaluations do not fall under the responsibility of riggers or tour managers, but exclusively of qualified professionals in the engineering field, to whom Atlantico Live has entrusted itself for over forty years.
We also wish to clarify that Mr. Tournier never had a direct discussion with the ownership or with the management of the venue: his passage through the venue occurred without any dialogue with the responsible parties present.
It is also objective that, had there truly been conditions of immediate danger, the assembly of the stage would never have been completed. On the contrary, as also testified by numerous fans and by photographic material widely circulated, the structure was completely assembled and was subsequently dismantled once the decision had been made.
We are deeply saddened by the words of hatred, the accusations, and the intimidations that we are receiving, also following statements that portray us as non-transparent or untruthful subjects. Atlantico Live is first and foremost a place of work for dozens of families, who every day operate with seriousness, competence, and in full compliance with current regulations.
We conclude by protecting our history, our professionalism, and the truth of the facts, certain that the safety of the public, artists, and workers is not a slogan to justify the cancellation of a concert for one’s own reasons, but a concrete commitment that we have demonstrated for over four decades of activity.
This will be the final exhaustive statement from Atlantico Live!”
The Facebook comment from the fan reads as follows:
“Hi. Since many reacted instinctively (myself included) following the disappointment caused by the cancellation of the event, I will try to provide clarity by explaining what happened and why, in my opinion, today’s situation is indefensible.
This morning I received the meet and greet email that confirmed the event and postponed the meeting by only twenty minutes. Therefore, I set out for the venue (I am arriving from Puglia, but I spent the weekend in Rome and I am staying about an hour from Atlantico). Upon arriving at the venue, there were already two lines: the standard access line and the VIP access line for soundcheck and meet and greet.
In the VIP line, a time was indicated that was once again different, namely 14:30 instead of 13:20 as stated in this morning’s email.After about half an hour of waiting, around 14:00, two members of the Alter Bridge crew arrived exclusively toward our line and, with an ambiguous and I would even dare to say sly attitude, communicated in slang that the entire event + the meet and greet had been canceled because the stage had collapsed on itself. Half of the people did not understand what was happening, and the standard line was not even informed.
When further explanations were requested, they changed the version, saying that the stage was moving and therefore was not considered safe by them. They said goodbye and left, leaving everyone hanging, especially the standard ticket line, unaware of what had happened.After about twenty minutes, the owner of Atlantico arrived and stated that the problem did not exist and that it was a whim. Being someone who deals daily with Public Security Laws and with the competent Authorities, I personally asked the venue owner whether there had been any irregularities that had blocked the possibility of holding the event, and he reiterated that everything was regular and that no inspection by authorities had taken place to declare the structure unfit for use. Therefore, the core of the issue is not who is to blame, but how we received the news of the event’s cancellation. But above all: if there is a problem with the stage in a venue that hosts concerts daily, is it possible that it cannot be resolved promptly in order to avoid all this chaos, including certainly legal actions between the various parties, given that the damage will be around 100,000 euros, if not more? Those who were not on site and did not speak with the AB staff understandably blame the venue, but understand that those who were there can at least consider that the band’s staff was not so transparent, nor correct. Personally, I have never seen the cancellation of an event just a few hours before it begins and with official confirmation even after the start of some related experiences, including Tremonti’s clinic, which took place and those who came out of it knew nothing!!!”
Earlier yesterday, the band issued a short statement regarding cancellation of their show:
“Due to production concerns at today’s venue in Rome we will sadly have to cancel today’s show with Daughtry and Sevendust.”
“Refunds will be given at point of sale for all ticket holders. Thank you for your understanding.”
Despite the setback in Rome, the tour is expected to resume immediately. The production is scheduled to move to the ChorusLife Arena in Bergamo, Italy, today (February 3) without further interruption. The European run, promoting the Alter Bridge LP released last month via Napalm Records, will continue through the United Kingdom in early March.
Remaining 2026 European Tour Dates:
- Feb. 03 — Bergamo, Italy (ChorusLife Arena)
- Feb. 05 — Zurich, Switzerland (The Hall)
- Feb. 06 — Lyon, France (Halle Tony Garnier)
- Feb. 08 — Barcelona, Spain (Razzmatazz 1)
- Feb. 10 — Lisbon, Portugal (Sagres Campo Pequeno)
- Feb. 12 — Madrid, Spain (Palacio Vistalegre)
- Feb. 13 — Bordeaux, France (Arkéa Arena)
- Feb. 15 — Luxembourg (Rockhal)
- Feb. 17 — Oberhausen, Germany (Turbinenhalle)
- Feb. 18 — Paris, France (Zénith)
- Feb. 20 — Munich, Germany (Zénith)
- Feb. 22 — Amsterdam, Netherlands (Ziggo Dome)
- Feb. 23 — Brussels, Belgium (Ancienne Belgique)
- Feb. 25 — Newcastle, UK (Utilita Arena)
- Feb. 26 — Manchester, UK (AO Arena)
- Feb. 28 — Dublin, Ireland (3Arena)
- Mar. 02 — Glasgow, UK (OVO Hydro)
- Mar. 04 — London, UK (The O2)
- Mar. 05 — Nottingham, UK (Motorpoint Arena)
