What was meant to be a night of soulful R&B magic ended in chaos on Saturday, 5 October 2025, when Summer Walker’s highly anticipated In The City concert at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria was cut short after just 30 minutes.
According to videos shared on social media, the Grammy-nominated singer stopped mid-performance before leaving the stage, leaving thousands of fans stunned.
The show — organised by Steyn Entertainment as part of the Rocking The Daisies 2025 festival weekend — had been scheduled for a full hour-long set. Instead, it ended abruptly after half that time.
In a video statement posted shortly after the incident, Summer Walker apologised to her South African fans and explained that she had no control over what happened.
“South Africa, I am so, so, so sorry. I literally don’t understand what happened — I got kicked off the stage,” she said.
“They [the event organisers] changed my time three times. When I finally got on stage, they were yelling in my ear to cut my whole entire set halfway.”
The singer described the situation as “really unprofessional,” adding that she was disappointed she could not give fans the full experience she had planned.
“I didn’t even get to get down and get out in the crowd like I usually do,” she said.
“They told me to hurry up and wrap it up. That wasn’t my intention — I was prepared to do my full hour.”
Walker went on to claim that police, fire marshals, and event promoters insisted she end her performance to avoid a fine for exceeding the venue’s curfew.
“The police, the fire marshal, the promoter — they were like, ‘We’re gonna get fined if you don’t hurry up and get off.’ So I got off the stage,” she explained.
“But honestly, they could have just paid the fine. They know that you guys spent your hard-earned money, your time, y’all drove.”
She ended her message with a mix of frustration and affection for her supporters:
“They kicked yo’ girl off, and I really can’t do anything about that. But I just don’t want y’all to think it was on me. They could have paid the fine, respected y’all’s time, my time — and they didn’t give a damn.”
In a separate post on social media, Walker alleged that Steyn Entertainment, the concert’s promoter, had failed to pay the Joint Operations Committee (JOC) — a local body responsible for ensuring safety compliance at large public events.
She said this issue “messed up the whole show” even though she had arrived early.
The singer later wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“South Africa, I love you guys so much. You were the best show. I wanted to do the full hour, but the venue and SA police didn’t allow me to. It was not my fault. I love you guys — I’ll be back soon.”
At the time of publication, Steyn Entertainment had not responded to requests for comment.