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Costello cancels Pittsburgh show in solidarity with strike

Last Updated Oct 20, 2016 at 11:00 am MDT

FILE - In this June 9, 2016 photo, Elvis Costello performs at the 47th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Awards Gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. Costello is canceling his upcoming show in Pittsburgh in solidarity with striking Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians. In a statement he says his Nov. 1 show at the Heinz Hall cannot go on because he is unwilling to cross the picket line. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Elvis Costello is cancelling his upcoming show in Pittsburgh in solidarity with striking Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians.

In a statement, he says his Nov. 1 show at the Heinz Hall cannot go on because he is unwilling to cross the picket line.

He asks his fans for their understanding and to “support live music wherever it is heard.”

The orchestra has cancelled all concerts through Nov. 18, after the musicians went on strike Sept. 30.

The musicians are objecting to a 15 per cent pay cut and other concessions management says are necessary to keep the symphony solvent in the face of more than $20 million in debt over the next five years.