Classic rock legend taking ‘big unplanned break’ from tour: Here’s why

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are going on a “big unplanned break” and have indefinitely postponing the rest of their Love Earth tour after some of the band members fell ill.

The announcement came after Young, 78, and the band cancelled their May 23 Chicago concert a few hours before hitting the stage followed by two more shows later that week.

The iconic band was set to return on tour in July and performing through September, but the schedule was removed from Young’s official site and replaced with a statement. It did not specify which band members were ill.

“When a couple of us got sick after Detroit’s Pine Knob, we all had to stop,” the statement read. “We are still not fully recovered, so sadly our tour will have a big unplanned break. We will try to play some of the dates we miss as time passes when we are ready to rock again!”

“We know many of you made travel plans and we apologize for the inconvenience,” the band added. “Thanks for your understanding and patience. Health is # 1. We want to stay and do more shows and more albums for you…. and for for us. With love and thanks to all of you from Crazy Horse….. Neil, Micah, Ralph and Billy Love Earth.”

Some fans on Reddit tried to speculate on which band members were ill while others were impressed that the band has been managed to keep details private.

The postponement impacts seven dates including in Canada and three in the United States.

Prior to the tour’s kick off back in April, Young previously said the band had to consider their health issues at their age which is why he decided they only play outdoor shows because of COVID-19.

“We gotta be careful,” Young said on a Zoom call with fans. “I imagine if you look at a regular group of 15,000 or 20,000 people, just randomly… then look at 15,000 or 20,000 people that all went to a show, and how many of them got COVID, I think you’d find people that went to a show inside have a lot more of a chance of getting sick.”

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