Legendary classic rock singer announces “major unplanned tour break” due to illness

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are taking a “major unplanned break” and have postponed the remainder of their Love Earth tour indefinitely after several band members fell ill.

The announcement came after Young, 78, and the band canceled their May 23 concert in Chicago just hours before their performance, followed by two more shows later in the week.

The legendary band was scheduled to return to tour in July and perform through September, but the schedule was removed from Young’s official website and replaced with a statement that did not specify which band members were ill.

“When a few of us got sick after Pine Knob in Detroit, we all had to stop,” the statement said. “We are not fully recovered yet, so unfortunately our tour will be taking a big unplanned break. We will try to play some of the dates we miss when time passes and we are ready to rock again!”

“We know many of you have made travel plans and we apologize for the inconvenience,” the band added. “Thank you for your understanding and patience. Health comes first. We want to stay and make more shows and more albums for you… and for us. With love and thanks to all of you from Crazy Horse… Neil, Micah, Ralph and Billy Love Earth.”

Some fans tried to speculate on Reddit about which band members were ill, while others were impressed that the band had managed to keep details secret.

Seven dates are affected by the postponement, including in Canada, and three in the USA.

Before the tour began in April, Young explained that the band had to take into account their health issues at their age, which is why he decided to only play outdoors because of COVID-19.

“We have to be careful,” Young said in a Zoom call with fans. “I imagine if you look at a normal group of 15,000 or 20,000 people, just randomly … and then look at 15,000 or 20,000 people who all went to a show and how many of them got COVID, I think you’ll find that people who went to an indoor show are at a much higher risk of getting sick.”

“I don’t really have to do that,” he added. “Willie Nelson told me he’s only playing outside now. I thought that was a good idea, so I’m doing it.”

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You can reach Saleah Blancaflor at [email protected]Follow her on Twitter at @saleyley And Instagram.