Neko Case played a show Thursday night at the Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, or at least she started to, before walking off stage after her first few songs. The reason for her departure was that the venue did not remove a security guard who was openly carrying a gun, according to Stereogum. 

According to reports on Reddit, after Case announced that the Caverns had declined her request to remove their armed security guard, who was standing near the stage visibly wearing his gun, Case left the stage. One Reddit commenter transcribed their recording of Case’s announcement, “Guys, there are men on every side of this room with a gun and I am not comfortable playing this show, I’m sorry. It’s not okay. I can’t have men with guns watching me right now. I don’t know if you’ve ever been raped at gunpoint, but you don’t want people hanging around with guns, you just don’t fuckin’ (unintelligible). So, I am very sorry about this, but they’re not leaving so I guess we are, thank you.”

Many comments on Case’s Instagram post that promoted the show have expressed support for Case or condemned the venue’s handling of the situation. Caverns has told Stereogum that they did not receive the request until after the set began and that they are providing refunds, “At The Caverns, the safety of our guests, artists, and staff is always our top priority. No advance requests were made to adjust our standard security protocols prior to the show or during our pre-show security meeting and venue walk-through. When the tour manager requested that our licensed armed security be moved to the back of the house, we immediately made that accommodation after determining that guest and artist safety would not be compromised. Unfortunately, we did not receive this request until after the show had begun. We were surprised and disappointed when the artist chose to end the performance early and not return to the stage. All ticket holders will be fully refunded.”

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna