It’s been a bad year for Gregg Allman. Back in April, one of his tour buses went off the road, injuring three members of his crew. Then, in August, he was forced to pull out of part of a tour after contracting a serious case of pneumonia.
Allman seemed to be back to normal in September and October with appearances at two Laid Back Festivals and a planned series of shows at New York’s City Winery but he had to bow out of the first two shows on November 6 and 7 with his band filling in.
On Tuesday, Allman posted a message on his website saying that he was postponing all of the rest of his 2016 shows along with early 2017 appearances until next June so that his voice can have time to properly heal.
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 City Winery residency is now scheduled for July 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16 and 17.
Allman’s band will still be playing the venue tonight and Thursday night.
