Bright Eyes has canceled the remaining dates on its concert schedule for 2024, in the wake of an alarming kickoff to the band’s U.S. tour that resulted in distressed fans expressing concern for the mental and physical health of singer Conor Oberst. The group said in a statement on social media Friday that Oberst would be receiving “continued medical attention” for “vocal problems” and that the band planned to return to the road next year.
“Over the past week, Conor has undergone multiple tests to determine the cause of his recent vocal problems,” the statement said. “It’s come to light that he has developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing, requiring both treatment and recuperation. We are confident that with a successful regimen, and continued medical attention, we will be able to return to the road next year.”
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The band expressed regret “that we will have to cancel our shows for the rest of the year including in Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas and Europe. We love our fans and are incredibly disappointed that we won’t be able to play these shows. All tickets for headline shows will be refunded at point of purchase and we will keep everyone posted on plans for rescheduling.”
Bright Eyes had completed just three dates on its U.S. tour, Sept, 14-16, before it was announced that the next three shows would be called off, in the lead-up to this much larger cancellation. Many fans who attended the concerts that did take place had expressed concern for Oberst’s welfare and a hope that more than just a handful of dates would be postponed or canceled, believing he showed signs of needing more extensive treatment for whatever issues may be at play.
On social media, general reaction among fans to Friday’s announcement was almost surprisingly positive across the board, given that they were cheering a cancellation. That was true even among those who had travel plans set for upcoming dates, many of them offering a sigh of relief that the singer appeared to be getting help, even if they were personally inconvenienced.
Some fans viewed the “vocal problems” explanations as euphemistic, given that Oberst appeared to be heavily intoxicated at shows earlier this month, and not for the first time on a tour. But others believe his voice could be a legitimate issue, on top of whatever else may have been impairing his performance. At the third and last show the band did, in Philadelphia, fan reports on Reddit and elsewhere encouragingly indicated that Oberst seemed to have pulled himself together after a disastrous appearance the night before in Cleveland. But even then, fans noted signs of vocal strain, suggesting that the singer sounded more as if he were at the end of a tour rather than the start.
It was the tour’s second show, in Cleveland, that set off a firestorm among fans on social media. Late in the concert, Oberst, apologizing for his “voice being so fucked up,” remarked that he wanted to “kill myself,” which seemed to set off a concerned buzz among his fellow band members as well as the audience. One attendee wrote that he walked after seven songs because, for someone with a history of addiction and recovery, the performance was triggering. A typical comment from a Cleveland attendee on social media read: “Can we talk about how heartbreaking that was? I cried on the way home… I hope that he gets the help he needs. Rooting for him.”
Although the cancellation is being taken as a hopeful sign by fans who hope Oberst will benefit from taking a break for treatment, it will put a temporary crimp in plans to promote a new album that has been generally well-received by fans and critics. Bright Eyes’ “Five Dice, All Threes” was hailed upon its Sept. 20 release with reviews like DIY’s, which said it was “a thrillingly unpredictable musical journey,” and Under the Radar’s, which opined that the album is “more than a body of music, it is a declaration of wisdom and creative expression with the type of artistry that leaves the listeners with revelations or suspicions of the world around them.”
At present, the tour is still scheduled to pick up in 2025, starting with a Jan. 16 show in Phoenix. The band has more than 40 shows on the docket next year in a packed North American tour schedule that runs through an April 26 closer in Iowa.
This marked the second time in a week that a tour by a beloved rock band was called off due to very visible problems involving a lead singer’s behavior on-stage. Jane’s Addiction not only canceled the remainder of its tour but seems to have split up as a band in the wake of singer Perry Farrell assaulting guitarist Dave Navarro on-stage (and also off-stage, according to the band’s guitar tech, in a new podcast blow-by-blow account). Farrell’s wife has subsequently apologized on his behalf and stated that the singer would be consulting a neurologist.
The canceled Bright Eyes shows are as follows: Friday, October 11 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater Saturday, October 12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Bellwether (SOLD OUT) Sunday, October 13 – Las Vegas, NV – Best Friends Forever Music FestivalSunday, November 10 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfrun HallMonday, November 11 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush EmpireTuesday, November 12 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – DoornroosjeWednesday, November 13 – Ghent, Belgium – Ha ConcertsThursday, November 14 – Cologne, Germany – Carlswerk VictoriaFriday, November 15 – Berlin, Germany – TempodromSaturday, November 16 – Weissenhauser Strand, Germany – Rolling Stone BeachMonday, November 18 – Stockholm, Sweden – Fållan Tuesday, November 19 – Oslo, Norway – Parkteatret
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