Brian Setzer Cancels 16th Annual ‘Christmas Rocks!’ Tour Due to Doctor’s Orders, Citing ‘Severe’ Tinnitus

Legendary rockabilly icon Brian Setzer has embarked on the ‘Christmas Rocks! tour each winter for 15 years, but on Monday the 60-year-old announced that this year’s tour has been canceled.

Citing doctor’s orders, Setzer posted the following message to his social media pages:

It’s heartbreaking to disappoint my fans who have shared my Christmas seasons with me for over fifteen years. I’m truly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused all of the amazing people who make my tour happen and to my unbelievably loyal and devoted fans. I hate to let you down and I hope you’ll understand.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4vG7TcpMto/

Tinnitus is no joke, after all. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Huey Lewis has found that out the hard way, as some significant tinnitus issues forced him to cease performing with Huey Lewis and the news, though the iconic group did premiere a new song recently.

And back in September, Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter also canceled a tour for the same reason.

Regardless, it’s tough to see this issue force so many rock and roll icons off the stage — but it goes to show the importance of preventing the onset of tinnitus whenever possible.

As for Brian Setzer, he and the Stray Cats released a special album, 40, to commemorate their fortieth anniversary, back in May.

The Christmas Rocks! tour was to bring Setzer and a 19-piece orchestra on the road playing shows of festive holiday music, but that’s now on the shelf as he deals with this medical setback. The scheduled dates were:

FRI 11/15 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
SAT 11/16 Chicago, IL The Chicago Theatre
SUN 11/17 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
TUE 11/19 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Center For The Arts
WED 11/20 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
THU 11/21 Springfield, MA Symphony Hall
*SAT 11/23 Lynchburg, VA Academy Center of the Arts
SUN 11/24 Westbury, NY Theatre at Westbury
WED 11/27 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
FRI 11/29 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
SAT 11/30 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
MON 12/2 Nashville, TN The Ryman
TUE 12/3 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
WED 12/4 Augusta, GA Miller Theatre
FRI 12/6 Biloxi, MS Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
TUE 12/10 Salt Lake City, UT Eccles Theatre
THU 12/12 Ridgefield, WA Ilani Casino
FRI 12/13 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
SAT 12/14 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
MON 12/16 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
TUE 12/17 Stockton, CA Bob Hope Theatre
*THU 12/19 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theatre
FRI 12/20 Palm Desert, CA McCallum Theatre