Canadian singer Bryan Adams has cancelled a show in Mississippi over the US state’s new state law that lets people with religious objections refuse service to same-sex couples.

The rocker said in a statement that he could not “in good conscience in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation”.

He added he found it “incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being discriminated against”.

Last week, a law signed in Mississippi was passed to allow people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and permit employers to cite religion in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access.

Adams, who was set to perform on Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, called the bill “extremely discriminatory.”

“Hopefully Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all of my many fans. I look forward to that day,” Adams said.

Executives of several major US corporations urged Mississippi officials last week to repeal the law, condemning it as discriminatory.

On Friday, US rock star Bruce Springsteen cancelled a weekend concert in North Carolina to protest a new state law barring transgender people from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.

– with other agencies