Rod Stewart Cancels Concert Due to Illness: Details on Singer’s Condition and Recovery
British rocker Rod Stewart was forced to cancel a March 18 concert due to an ongoing health issue. The bestselling artist took to Instagram to apologize to his fans for the last-minute switch-up and explain his decision to not take the stage. Scroll below for more details on his condition and recovery.
What Happened to Rod Stewart?
Rod was set to perform at A Day on the Green with Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens at Mt. Duneed Estate in Geelong, Australia. The concert, set to be held at the popular outdoor venue, was just one of Rod’s Australian tour dates fans were looking forward to this month. News broke that the Grammy winner was canceling the weekend stop on The Hits tour just hours before he was slated to perform.
"Hello, my friends," a statement on his Instagram page began. "I'm absolutely downhearted that I'm disappointing my fans who bought tickets to A Day on the Green. Late this morning, I was advised that I have a viral infection and my throat is too irritated to sing."
The statement continued: “I’m only human and sometimes get sick just like you do. My greatest joy is performing for you, so I’m doing everything I can to get on the mend and back on stage.”
In a March 19 Instagram Story, Rod assured his fans that the rest of his tour dates would go on as planned after a “minor setback” due to “strep throat.” He concluded the clip by saying he is “fine now” and “looking forward” to future performances. The “Maggie May” crooner is expected to take the stage again at AEC Arena in Adelaide on Tuesday, March 21. He has yet to announce whether he will be returning to Geelong to reschedule A Day on the Green.
After his Australian tour dates, Rod will be traveling to perform several shows in New Zealand in April before he heads to Mexico, Las Vegas, Ireland and Spain. He’ll finish off the tour in the U.S. in early September.
Last year, the esteemed songwriter canceled multiple tour dates between March and April 2022 due to an “ongoing surge of COVID in Australia and the reimposition of entertainment venue capacity limits in several states,” a statement from Live Nation read at the time.
Inside Rod Stewart’s Health Battle
After doctors found a lump in his thyroid gland, Rod was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2000. The following day, he underwent surgery to have the cancer removed. Rod lost his voice following the procedure, something that he thought could potentially impact the future of his career.
"I don't want to pretend I fought cancer for months and months. It was really easy to get rid of, but I did lose my voice — totally gone,” he said during a November 2021 appearance on Loose Women. "It was scary because I couldn't sing a note.”
After working hard to get his voice back, the “Sailing” singer was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016. He secretly battled the disease for three years before announcing he was cancer free in 2019.
“No one knows this, but I thought this was about time I told everybody,” the dad of eight told the crowd at a fundraiser event in September 2019. “I’m in the clear, now, simply because I caught it early. I have so many tests.”