Skip Marley’s “Change” Tour is off to a rocky start as the artist was denied entry into Canada on Tuesday. The second generation Marley took to social media to apologize to his fans in that country and suggested that there will be a future date for the show in Toronto.
Skip said, “I did everything I was told I needed to do to meet the entry requirements but it seems today they needed more.”
He attached the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) document titled “Direction to return to the United States” in his post.
💛 (2/2) pic.twitter.com/sw6oC9G3Zj
— Skip Marley (@SkipMarley) September 20, 2022
World Music Views caught up with Toronto based Lawyer Mackeda Bramwell of the law firm Koradek Clarke Law Group who said among the reasons Skip can be denied entry into Canada as a citizen of the U.S. are:
“if he’s been charged or convicted in the past, if he has misrepresented himself at the border or if the purpose he is entering Canada is deemed not genuine.”
Another reason Skip could be denied entry into Drake’s hometown is the “Quarantine Act” which was implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19. As a result proof of vaccination is required for people entering the country. It is unclear whether the Rastafarian descendant is vaccinated.
Bramwell says while that is a possibility, unvaxed visitors are allowed with conditions.
“Unvaccinated visitors are being allowed, however there is a 14 day quarantine period. Visitors must first submit documents 3 days prior to arriving at the border,” she told WMV.
Canada is set to drop those rules come the ending of September.
Other than the postponed Canadian show, the Island Records artist will be making 20 stops for the Change Tour in the U.S. including shows in Las Vegas, Houston, West Hollywood California and ending in Burlington Vermont on October 25.
Skip,26, is one of the most successful reggae acts with two Grammy Award nominations and an MTV Video Music Award nomination already under his belt.
He is signed with the Chris Blackwell owned Blue Mountain Music Publishing, and was an opener for his uncles Damian and Stephen Marley on the Catch a Fire tour.
His commercial campaigns include a 2017 Gap 1969 Denim ad, and his 2017 single “Lions”, which was produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh. was used in the infamous Pepsi short film commercial, Live for Now which starred Kendal Jenner.
Skip co-wrote and was featured on Katy Perry’s 2017 single “Chained to the Rhythm”. They performed the song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards and also at the 2017 Brit Awards. The music video for the song has surpassed 700 million YouTube streams.
Chain To The Rhythm, released by Capitol Records, is certified double platinum(2,000,000) in the U.S. by the RIAA, certified gold in the U.K.(400,000), France, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, platinum in Australia, and triple platinum in Canada. His other hit Slow Down with H.E.R., is certified gold by the RIAA.
