Yesterday I made a decision. It wasn't easy and I didn't want to make it, but I have decided to cancel my tour into the US.
This sucks. I have been planning this trip for over a year. Last July I put the paperwork together to submit to the musicians union and paid them and Homeland Security over $1K just to process it.
I was luckier than most Canadian musicians trying to do this. Some reported their work visas hadn't been approved even after 7 months of waiting, and had to cancel their tours.
The new system funnels all P2 work visa requests from Canada to a central office in Texas and from there they are randomly assigned for processing to either the centre in Vermont or California.
I was lucky; mine went to Vermont so it was approved in 2 months. But from the start of my tour planning to the acceptance of my work visa took more than 6 months, and it's only going to get worse.
Touring in the US is no longer feasible for me. I hate admitting it, but it's true. Almost all my contacts are in the States. The venues I play at, the organizers I've developed relationships with, the hosts I stay and play with.
This is a massive blow to everything I've worked for up to this point and I'm reeling. It's going to take a long time to build a similar network in Canada.
But I've begun to pivot. So far:
- I'm vending at FilKONtario in Markham the first weekend of April
- I'll be in Winnipeg MB for Keycon the long weekend in May and then a house concert
- I'm looking into Paganfest at the solstice in Lethbridge AB
I'm pulling things together. It's sparse, but I'm doing what I can. I've already invested time, energy and money into this tour. Gratefully I get to put it to use and hopefully make at least some of it back in sales and new contacts.
I've never been to Keycon so I'm excited I'll get to play a concert there and find new ears and hearts that love my music. And I really loved vending at FKO last year and GAFilk in January so I'm happy to get to do that again at my home filk con.
I'll keep you posted as things develop further. Yesterday was a solid wave of cancellation emails and texts and calls. Everyone was so understanding, and I know it's the right thing to do, but it was a lot of disappointing a lot of people all at once.