Earlier this year, the frontman revealed that he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that rendered him unable to play guitar
The Stray Cats will no longer spend their fall on the road together. The band was scheduled to kick off their 2025 tour on Oct. 25, but canceled their opening night in Michigan, citing frontman Brian Setzer’s “serious illness.” A cancellation of the remaining tour dates followed.
“I know this affects so many people and I am devastated to have to deliver this news,” Setzer shared in a statement on Instagram. “I’ve been trying to do everything I can to go on and do with this show, but it is just not possible. I’ve been looking forward so much to being on stage with my band mates again and playing for all of our amazing fans, and I’m gutted.”
Refunds will be made available at the point of purchase.
Earlier this year, Setzer shared that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that left him unable to play guitar. “I cannot play guitar. There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play,” he said at the time. “I know I will beat this, it will just take some time.” It is unclear if the diagnosis and illness are connected.
The Stray Cats recently returned with their first music releases in six years. The double single “Stampede” and “Teenage Heaven,” an Eddie Cochran cover, arrived last week. “Jim and I cut both songs in Minneapolis at Terrarium Studios,” Setzer shared on the band’s website. “‘Stampede’ was an instrumental that I wrote lyrics for. I basically copied the guitar part, which was pretty ahead of its time to begin with, and ‘Teenage Heaven’ is one of the few Eddie Cochran songs that has not been covered to death.”
The band last toured throughout the summer of 2024. Their latest album, 40, arrived in 2019.
