2016 has been a rough year for Gregg Allman. After a bout of pneumonia derailed most of his summer tour, fans were delighted at the announcement of a 20+ date fall/winter tour last week. However, that excitement has proven short-lived. The new tour was set to kick off this past Sunday with the first of ten November shows at NYC’s City Winery this past Sunday, but Allman was forced to cancel the first two shows due to a bruised vocal chord. Ticket holders received refunds, and Gregg’s band even played the shows anyway without their front man, free of charge, with the City Winery residency set to resume as planned tomorrow.
Unfortunately, today Allman fans some more bad news: Gregg will not be returning to the stage tomorrow. Instead, he has postponed the NYC residency until July 2017, and has cancelled the remainder of the tour to take several months off and “focus on his health so he can return to playing live later in 2017.”
In a statement, Allman continued, “This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long, long, time. I’ve been on the road for 45 years because I live to play music with my friends for my fans. As much as I hate it, it’s time for me to take some real time off to heal. Not making a show is a really hard decision for me because I want to play so bad, but it’s also hard on my partners and fans who make plans to be with me. I never want to put anybody in a bad spot. I’m so grateful for the people that I work with and for the fans that come to my shows and I want to be at my best for all of them. That means I’m going to have to wait until I’m feeling really good, not just good enough like I have been. Good enough isn’t working for us all.”
The Gregg Allman Band led by music director/guitarist Scott Sharrard will perform historic Allman Brothers Band and solo Allman material as free concerts at City Winery to fulfill their scheduled obligations. On Wednesday, the band and a handful of special guests will play the Allman Brothers Band’s self-titled debut album and more, while on Thursday The Gregg Allman Band and guests will present a “Best Of The Solo Years” set in their absent bandleader’s honor.
We wish Gregg all the best on his road to recovery, and can’t wait to see him when he’s back to 100% next year.
[h/t – JamBase]