Hedley in Hamilton

Band rocks on despite rape allegations

Canadian band under scrutiny amid allegations of sexual misconduct

There was nothing but love for Hedley inside the First Ontario Centre — despite the controversy that has dogged the band since they were accused of sexual misconduct.

The Hamilton crowd cheered for frontman Jacob Hoggard and bandmates Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Jay Benison as they delivered a high-energy show Tuesday night that made no reference to the scandal swirling around the Canadian pop-rockers.

Hoggard, who played a grand piano and guitar, ran and spun around the stage, and made several costume changes, and riled up the crowd, yelling “How you feeling tonight, Hamilton?” and “I love you, Hamilton!”

After spotting another audience member texting, he grabbed her cellphone, called her “Texty McTexterson,” and began rifling though her cellphone contacts.

“This is your lab partner? So, a lot of late study nights?,” Hoggard said.

He eventually called the audience member’s boyfriend on her phone — who was also in the crowd watching Hedley.

“Nothing weird’s happening. We’re just chatting,” Hoggard joked.

The crowd, which filled roughly three-quarters of the arena, sang along with the group’s hits during the hour-and-a-half long show.

Hedley has faced severe scrutiny over the past few weeks after allegations of sexual assault were levelled at them. Two women have now come forward accusing Hoggard of rape, while other women have made allegations online, including a 14-year-old fan.

Hedley has since been dropped by their management team and has been blocked from several radio stations across the country. In a statement last week, the band announced it is taking an “indefinite hiatus” after this tour wraps up.

For Hedley fan Lori Penner, who lives in Tillsonburg, the allegations were disturbing enough to make her stay away from Tuesday night’s show.

Penner, a teacher-librarian, had purchased tickets for herself and her 11- and 13-year-old daughters. But after her daughters began hearing about the allegations and asking questions, Penner and her husband decided to take a stand.

“We felt that if we went, we were supporting them,” she said. “And we could not do it.”

After Penner reached out to Ticketmaster on Twitter, she was reimbursed for the full cost of the tickets. Still, Penner, who has followed the band since Hoggard's days as a contestant on Canadian Idol, says she feels a sense of loss.

“All-around, there’s a huge disappointment,” she said. “I honestly feel like he’s my brother and he’s disappointed me.”

Other fans are still standing solidly behind the band. Chelsea Franklin, who attended Tuesday night’s show at the FirstOntario Centre, says she’ll continue to support the group until the allegations are proven.

“They’ve openly said, ‘We’ve lived the rock star life. We weren’t very nice people to some people.’ But why punish them for that, if there’s nothing on them? Let the fans be the fans,” she said.

“I’m a little torn about what I think about the whole thing in general, because I have this whole image of them being a hometown band and being proud of who they are. And then you hear these allegations, and it’s like, ‘Is it real or is it not?,’” she said.

“But I still enjoy their music, and until the allegations are proven, I have nothing against them.”