Hedley plans to play out remaining concert schedule

BRAMPTON — Thursday night’s concert by embattled rockers is the first in a final string of concerts before the band goes on an “indefinite hiatus” so the members can “take a long hard look in the mirror.”

The two-time Juno winners and former MuchMusic darlings released a joint statement late Wednesday in the wake of unrelenting pressure stemming from sexual misconduct allegations involving young fans.

The group’s members said they were “truly sorry, as individuals and as a band, to anyone who has been negatively affected by our behaviour” and added they decided to continue on with their 15 scheduled concerts for the sake of their crew and others who “depend on this tour for their livelihood.”

Band leader Jacob Hoggard also released his own statement saying he has “never engaged in non-consensual sexual behaviour,” but acknowledged he “behaved in a way that objectified women” and was “reckless and dismissive of their feelings.”

A 24-year-old Ottawa fan of the band alleged to the CBC that she was sexually assaulted by Hoggard after chatting with him on the dating app Tinder and agreeing to meet him at a hotel in Toronto. Hoggard’s lawyer Brian Shiller said in a statement that the woman and the Hedley frontman had “made a mutual plan to get together to have sex and they did just that.”

After Thursday night’s concert in Brampton, the band is scheduled to play Peterborough on Friday, Mississauga on Saturday, Hamilton on Tuesday, St. Catharines on Wednesday, Oshawa next Friday and Kitchener on Saturday, March 10.

A March 11 performance at Windsor was cancelled by the venue, Caesars Windsor, on Tuesday.

The last show on the tour is scheduled for March 23 in Kelowna, B.C.