A
world-famous rock band
has banned cellphones at their concerts.
And there are a number
of fans
who aren’t exactly thrilled about it.
Chaoszine reported in 2024
how face-painted and masked Swedish rock phenomenon Ghost decided to make their 2025 international tour — a tour which includes
two stops in Pennsylvania
— a “phone-free experience.” Special phone zones will be set up at venues in case of emergencies, though.
“Phones will be secured in [magnetically locked]
Yondr pouches
,” the fine-print to the tour read. “Guests maintain possession of their phones at all times.”
Chaoszine noted that the band tried this once before during a couple of 2023 performances and, for singer Tobias Forge, it proved to be a beneficial move.
However,
Metal Injection reports
how there was plenty of blowback with the announcement of the cellphone ban. Indeed, social platforms like Reddit and X are rife with such complaints.
“Ghost’s phone ban on tour feels like an overreach,” reads one
such X complaint
. “Music thrives on live, in the moment energy, generally not captured on a cellphone video … But some heavy-handed rule from a band play dictator?
“Let people decide — stop treating people like children.”
“Went to Tampa and did not think it was better, it made getting in and out so much worse, I wasn’t able to communicate with friends who got lost,” reads another
on Reddit
. “I’ve been to dozens of shows and I didn’t think it was so much better to justify the headache of it all.”
However, plenty of other people seem to be totally into the no-phone policy.
“You guys realize we had no mobile phones once and everyone was fine and functional, right?” one
Redditor points out
.
“I was at the Tampa shows,” writes someone else on the site. “It was… amazing to have a nice, dark theater to experience the show.
“Also, you talked to people more and really felt the community aspect and the closeness and intimacy of the show.”
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