Pardon me while I vent a little.

[DIppy Dawg]

This past weekend was the beginning of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the surrounding area. This year was the second annual Family Gras held in Jefferson Parish. Jefferson Parish for those who do not know is right next to New Orleans. ( Parish equals county). Anyway Family Gras is put on by the Jefferson Convention and Visitor Bureau and is an event held on the first weekend of Mardi Gras. Local and national bands and acts are invited to perform in an outdoor setting and local vendors are invited to sell their crafts and food etc. It is free to the public. Now do not get me wrong it is fun and we had a good time. So why is this on a Disney board. Well Miley's concert was Saturday night in New Orleans. Mitchel Musso and Billy Raye Cyrus were scheduled acts for Sunday afternoon. The buzz around the area was that Miley would make an appearance. TV and Radio stations were teasing when mentioning that Billy Raye would be there by saying things like "...and you never know who else may show up!" Radio Disney was also there Sunday acting as the emcee of the event. When we got there along with must have been 25 to 30 thousand other folks, mostly girls in the 6 - 16 age group, the first thing you notice was a huge pink bus with Miley's face on it. My daughter went nuts. The emcee - remember a Radio Disney employee - made sure everyone knew that it was Miley's tour bus. On numerous occasions mention was made the the concert the night before and the crowd was asked numerous times "Who do you want to see?" Mitchel Musso came out and did his thing (lipped sync about 80% of the act). he then later introduced Billy Raye. I have never seen him in concert tbefore and he was pretty entertaining. After about an hour or so (each artist was given about 75 minutes to perform)Billy Raye started talking about the concert the night before and how he felt as a dad watching Miley perform. The band started playing "Dont' Go" Dads (me included) started putting their daughters on their shoulders (it was Beatle Mania all over) we knew Miley was going to come out of that bus and sing the song with her dad. Billy Raye sang the song, his part and Miley's part, no Miley. You should have seen the faces of these little girls. Thanks to the money hungry ticket brokers out there our daughters could not go concert - I will do just about anything for my kids, especially my little girl as I am sure most dads feel but I cannot afford to spend $250 - $300 per ticket to do so. So with all of the hype from the media and the Radio Disney and Miley World people that were there we felt sure that Miley would be there. Needless to say we were all disappointed. I did not need to see Miley, I needed to see my daughter see Miley. I understand hat she was not a scheduled performer thats fine just don't hype the crowd up into a frenzy and leave them hanging, it was not right. Sorry this was so long but like I said I had to vent. I know Miley really cares about her fans she even signed a poster for my daughter "Happy Birthday Shelby, Love Miley" when my wife and I saw her in NY this past summer at the Disney Store. All I am saying is that it would have been nice to see my daughters face light up.

[Jasper]

It certainly seems that you have a right to be upset with the whole thing. I realize there was no "crime" committed but promoters should still have some decency and not tease appearances unless they are dead certain the appearance will take place! I used to be the entertainment chair for our county fair for many years and we brought in a number of big name country performers over the years so I know what kind of pressure both the performers and their promoters can put on local folks to stretch the truth in order to build crowd sizes. But, someone has to have a shred of decency and just say no unless whatever they are being asked to promote is true!

I am sad for your daughter and all the others in that crowd who had to learn such a tough lesson about promoters!

[WRWDisney]

While I agree that the continued hyping of her probable appearance seems inappropriate if she was not going to show, thought you might find the following blurb from TV Guides web site interesting:

"In front of a sold-out crowd at her Saturday concert in New Orleans, Miley Cyrus abruptly stopped singing, told the audience she wasn't feeling well and then raced off the stage. Five minutes later, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports, Cyrus returned to the spotlight, opting for a seat on a stool instead of hoofing it all over the stage as she had done for the hour prior. After a few last songs, Cyrus' father, Billy Ray — who happened to be in the Big Easy for a gig of his own — joined her for the encore, a duet of "Ready, Set, Don't Go."

Hannah Montana, it should be noted, felt "as right as rain" the entire concert, and was even heard backstage dissing Miley as "a lightweight."

[DIppy Dawg]

Again my point is don't hype it all up if she won't or can't make an appearance. I am not upset at Miley or Billy Ray, just the folks running the event. As a dad myself I would not want my daughter performing in rainy cold weather if she is already not feeling well.

[mickey&missy]

I completely agree with you that they shouldn't have made it seem like she woud be coming out and she never did. It would have broke my DD's heart if she were there. I'm sorry that happened to you and your DD!

[kakn7294]

I understand your point and I would have been upset too. If they didn't know for sure that she would be making an appearance, those promoters shouldn't have been hinting that she would. My girls would have been disappointed too. I'm sorry!