King Sunny Ade and His African Beats have cancelled their April/May 2010 North American tour. African Beats members Gabriel Ayanniyi (talking drum) and Omo Olope (percussion) were both killed in a car accident while en-route to a video shoot on March 26.

According to the band, “When the US Embassy refused to grant visas to replacement members in a timely manner, there was confusion about the possible courses of action. At the same time, it became clear that the artist and the band had neither recovered from the impact of the tragedy, nor were they able to find consensus on how to move forward with normal touring. As a result, the North American April/May 2010 tour has been canceled until such a time as King Sunny Ade and his group have sufficiently regrouped and are ready to face the rigors of an International tour again.”