J. Cole cancels a Sacramento tour date after a crew member dies in a crash

J. Cole's show at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento was cancelled hours before doors on Thursday, August 27, after a member of his touring crew was killed on the way there. The venue and promoter Live Nation announced it on social media, saying their thoughts were with the crew member's family after a trucking accident that morning.

The crash happened shortly after 6am on southbound Interstate 5 in Yolo County, near Woodland. The California Highway Patrol said the big rig drifted onto the right shoulder, and that the driver appeared to try to steer back onto the freeway and lost control. The vehicle overturned and blocked both southbound lanes. Emergency crews got the driver out and a medical helicopter was requested, but he died from his injuries. He was the only person in the truck.

The Yolo County Coroner's Office identified him as Jarlath Parkinson, 66, of Jackson, South Carolina, an entertainment trucker known as Chip. The cause has not been established. "It's unknown at this time, may have been a distraction or fell asleep," CHP Sgt. David Barker said.

The truck was carrying equipment from Tuesday night's show at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle down to Sacramento, which is the ordinary rhythm of an arena tour and the part of it nobody sees. Cole's representative confirmed the gear was for the Golden 1 Center date.

Ticket holders who bought through Ticketmaster are being refunded automatically, and anyone who bought through a third-party reseller has been told to go back to their point of purchase.

The tour supports The Fall Off, J. Cole's seventh studio album, and is his first solo headlining run in five years. Sacramento was to have been the first of eight consecutive California dates, with Oakland following on August 29 and 30 before Los Angeles, then a UK and European leg in October that includes two nights at The O2 in London. Cancellations have hit the genre from several directions this season, from Ja Rule pulling out of a White Sox postgame show to Ice Spice still being paid for a cancelled university date. Every date we follow sits in the tour guide, with more on the hip-hop hub.