Eminem’s Ireland Gig Threatens Missionary Convention

Eminem is in jeopardy of having his Northern Ireland debut canceled due to a scheduling conflict with a local missionary prayer service.

The Detroit MC, who has notably cleaned up his act since getting sober, is slated to headline the Tennent's Vital, a music festival in Bangor, Ireland, on August 24, the same day as Bangor's Missionary Convention, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary at a nearby church.

The two day open-air music festival, which takes place in Wart Park, and also features D12, Odd Future and indie-pop darling Ellie Goulding, is literally just a few yards away from the Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church where the Missionary Convention will be taking place. Though only one Bangor resident has made an official objection to the booking, the complainant, 47-year-old Brian Ashworth, claims to represent "scores" of other concerned citizens, and has lobbied the Borough Council to deny the festival's entertainment license application.

"I have no issue with a family-friendly concert in a park but this is a performer who uses the crudest language -- language that degrades women and has the foulest, most twisted content," Ashworth explained. "I have been doing a survey to determine how far the lyrics will be heard and local residents tell me that they heard previous concerts at the park. The council should never have allowed this."

While it is not yet known the impact of Ashworth's deputation with the Borough Council, which took place Tuesday night (June 21) at Bangor Town Hall, a spokesperson for the council said that his complaint will be taken into consideration, and a decision regarding the festival's entertainment license will be made in July.

"The main motivation for this event is to make money, and while it is important to stimulate the economy, it shouldn't involve breaching decency," Ashworth concluded.

An estimated 55,000 tickets have been sold for the Tennent's Vital, which is sold out on the day of Eminem's performance. Representatives for the rapper have yet to comment regarding the unfortunate scheduling conflict.