ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland's extreme winter weather is being blamed for what Hilary Duff says is the first cancellation in her pop-music career.

The American singer-actress was scheduled to play a sold-out concert Saturday night in St. John's, but promoters announced the cancellation just 10 hours before she was set to take the stage.

Wind and high seas delayed a ferry carrying four tractor-trailers full of concert equipment from North Sydney, N.S., to Port aux Basques, N.L.

The ferry finally arrived around 2 a.m. Saturday, said Marine Atlantic spokesman Chester Coffin, but poor road conditions forced the trucks to turn around after travelling more than 170 kilometres to Corner Brook. The Port aux Basques ferry terminal is about 900 kilometres from St. John's.

"I'm extremely disappointed that we were not able to perform this tour for my fans in Newfoundland,'' Duff, 18, said in a release Saturday.

"This is the first show we ever had to cancel, but I'm looking forward to performing in St. John's in the future.''

The concert was the only Newfoundland stop on Duff's Still Most Wanted tour. Mile One Stadium planned to start issuing refunds to the thousands of ticket holders on Monday.

A Marine Atlantic official said the tractor-trailers were already on their way back to Nova Scotia on Saturday. Duff was scheduled to play in Halifax on Monday.

Duff first gained popularity for her role in Disney's Lizzie McGuire television series, which debuted in 2001.

The series spawned The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003, which quickly became an international hit and solidified Duff as a teen superstar.

Duff sang on the soundtracks for the television series and the movie, and has also appeared in a number of Disney compilations. She released her first solo album, Metamorphosis, in 2003.

Duff's third solo release, Most Wanted, was released last August.