Underscores Calls Out Meow Wolf Houston For “Misogynistic” Behaviour

Underscores has criticised Houston venue Meow Wolf ahead of a scheduled performance there, accusing its leadership team of being “misogynistic”.

The hyperpop artist, whose real name is April Harper Grey and who previously appeared on NME’s The Cover, is currently touring across the United States in support of her third studio album, ‘U’, which was released in March.

On Saturday evening, the tour stopped in Houston for a concert at Meow Wolf. Ahead of taking the stage, Underscores shared a message on her Instagram Stories explaining that fans would not be seeing the full production planned for the show due to issues she said were outside her control.

“Full disclosure,” she wrote. “We won’t have full production tonight as the venue can’t accommodate it. They’ve honestly been very difficult to work with and have either been rude, misogynistic to my team or just don’t know what’s going on.”

“Still doing the show as planned but wanted to apologise in advance,” she continued. “I’ll make sure to come back to Houston next time with full production.”

In a follow up post, she noted that the “general venue staff” had actually been “very nice” and “accommodating” throughout the day, adding that her concerns were directed specifically at “upper management”.

NME has contacted Meow Wolf for comment.

Underscores is also set to bring the tour to the UK and Europe later this year, with dates scheduled in Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds, London, and Manchester throughout November. Find the full list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.

Speaking to NME’s Alex Rigotti in March, Underscores reflected on how themes of fame explored in her music have influenced the way she views her own life. “I’ve always scrutinised myself like I was famous,” she said. “I’ve always been like, ‘someone’s gonna pick my life apart to pieces someday, so I need to prepare for that’. But obviously some of that is some mental shit.”

‘U’ received a five star review from NME, with writer Otis Robinson writing: “More Black Mirror than Twin Peaks, ‘U’ is an intimate hyperpop record portraying snowballing isolation, a digital-age pop star’s yearning under the limelight of the techno-infused Anthropocene.”