A highly anticipated event at New York’s art world getaway, the Rockaway Hotel went wrong over the weekend as fans eagerly awaited an Action Bronson set.
When the Queens-born rapper finally took the stage, he refused to sing and instead threw himself into a DJ set. It would be an evening offered by Spotify, he joked. (In fact, it was worse: a second man was actually at the controls, abruptly starting and stopping an eclectic mix of tracks with awkward silences between each track.)
As the crowd stirred, he finally addressed the issue.
“It might not be the show you asked for, but it’s the show you get,” Bronson said. And when a fan asked him to sing, he got angry.
” I do not sing. They sold you the wrong show,” he said, then walked offstage just 45 minutes after he started. The music continued to play on a laptop for a few more minutes before someone from the hotel took the stage to inform guests that the rapper was not, in fact, returning.
The hotel is known for its activity artistic programmingwhich includes summer concerts and a “Artist’s table” series of dinners involving chefs and visual artists. The next features Claudette Flatow and Zoe Buckman for a Moroccan Shabbat meal July 7. It will also host an exhibition of works by the photographer Erica Read as part of the hotel’s new artist residency program, as well as a new community mural by Jesse Krimes.
Hopefully the hotel will sort out their event planning by then. For now, it’s offering refunds to Bronson ticket holders and scrambling to assure potential guests that the event isn’t indicative of its regular lineup.
“Bronson’s actions do not reflect the hotel’s commitment to continued meaningful programming,” a hotel representative said. “The Rockaway Hotel is disappointed with the Sunday night lineup and is working to resolve the issue.”
It turned out, however, that the gig was still supposed to be a DJ set, but fans had no idea, as it wasn’t described as such in the promos. While planning the event, Bronson said he wanted to do something “different” for his fans, “running his own vinyl,” the hotel said in a statement.
When Bronson posted on Twitter and Instagram Sunday morning that the event would be a DJ set, not a concert, there was confusion. The hotel emailed shortly before the doors opened: “To be clear, this is an Action Bronson ‘features’ date and this will be a DJ set/appearance.”
Bronson did not respond to requests for comment from Artnet News.
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