Barry Manilow cancelled a gig at the last minute due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
The 83-year-old singer postponed his show at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Tuesday night (04.08.26) just before he was set to take to the stage.
Barry penned on X: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s show in Lexington has been rescheduled.”
He did not reveal an exact reason for the show’s cancellation.
A spokesperson for Rupp Arena said: “Due to unexpected and unforeseen circumstances, the Barry Manilow concert scheduled for tonight, August 4 at Rupp Arena is postponed. All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the new date once it is announced.”
Barry is set to perform at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday night (05.08.26).
The Copacabana hitmaker cancelled gigs in Las Vegas in February as well as his arena tour launch dates that month and in March, followed by his April concerts because he was still “not quite ready” to return to the stage.
It comes as Barry was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer in December 2025 after the disease was detected during an MRI after hearing about recent bouts of bronchitis, and he underwent a lobectomy to remove a “cancerous tumour” on his left lung.
The Mandy singer – who confirmed he is cancer-free three months later – recently said he “never” thought cancer would “get me” because of being “too busy” with his illustrious music career.
In May, he told the Los Angeles Times: “I never thought cancer would get me – it wasn’t in the cards.
“They wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, so we made a deal: I’d finish the couple of weeks of shows that I had, then I’d go to the hospital, and they’d remove it.
“It was supposed to be a no-brainer – it hadn’t spread yet, thank goodness. But then my AFib kicked in, and acid reflux kicked in, and pneumonia kicked in. They rushed me to the ICU for seven days.”
Asked why the Grammy award winner “never thought cancer would get me”, he explained: “I’m too busy. Pretty stupid.
“What I realised is that I’ve always been the leader – leader of the band, leader of an audience – but I wasn’t the leader of this one.
“That was a big lesson for me. I had to rely on everybody else. Nurses, doctors, friends – you should see some of the notes people have sent.”
Barry said it was “agony” that he could not return to the stage for some time because his recovery, after an operation to remove a cancerous spot from one of his lungs, has been taking longer than expected.
