Fruit Bats Cancel October Shows In California, Arizona Due To COVID Concerns

Fruit Bats have canceled their coming October shows in California and Arizona, effectively clearing the band’s calendar for 2021. The Eric D. Johnson-led indie-folk outfit is not set to return to the stage until March 2nd, 2022 at My Morning Jacket‘s One Big Holiday destination event in Cancún, Mexico.

In a note posted to social media, Johnson shared the unfortunate news that Fruit Bats’ shows across California in San Diego, Palm Springs, Pioneertown, San Rafael, Sanoma, Big Sur, and San Luis Obispo would not take place as planned, in addition to the band’s concert in Pheonix, AZ. The frontman noted that this was no fault of the venues or promoters, who “took excellent steps to create a safe environment.” Due to the indoor and intimate nature of the venues, however, the band has opted to cancel the shows for now, with “Some (most? most likely all??)” to be rescheduled in the future.

Fruit Bats are still scheduled to hit the road beginning on March 9th, 2022 in Santa Barbara, CA to kick off a spring 2022 North American tour that runs through April 29th in Chicago. Visit the band’s website for tickets and a full list of tour dates and scroll down to see the announcement from Johnson.

Folks, I hate to type this, but we’ve decided to cancel the Fruit Bats shows in October. All of the venues and promoters took excellent steps to create a safe environment and we’re very thankful for that. That said, those two long weekends (in indoor, mostly intimate venues) were originally intended to be a fun “kick the dust off” series of carefree shows, but things are not feeling so free of care these days.

In a quarter century (!!) of playing shows, I have never cancelled a single gig. This includes a weeklong bout with laryngitis in Europe which reduced my voice to a squeak, a tour where I sprained my strumming wrist, countless drives through blizzards and storms, and of course many nights playing to just the bartender. What I’m saying is that this is a HUGE deal for me to make this decision… but I think it’s for the best.

Some (most? most likely all??) of these shows will be rescheduled, and we’ll share that info as soon as we can. If you don’t see your town on the list of reschedule dates, please contact the venue for a refund.

Looking very forward to seeing you in the spring. Love and appreciate you all so much

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