Morgan Wallen Cancels Six Weeks Of Tour Dates On Doctors’ Orders

Morgan Wallen has been forced to hit the brakes on his current world tour, having re-injured his vocal cords over the last few shows.

The Sneedville, Tennessee native first encountered problems after performing in Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday April 22; he said at the time that he was “unable to sing” after he’d “shot” his voice at that show, leading him to cancel a second show in the city and take ten days of vocal rest. Wallen returned to the stage on Thursday May 4, performing the first of three back-to-back shows in Florida. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent, but I’m doing a lot better,” Wallen said in a statement announcing his return. He performed the following two shows seemingly without an issue, but has now revealed on social media that he has in fact suffered another injury to his vocal folds.

In a video shared on Twitter, he explained: “I got some bad news from my doctors at the Vanderbilt Voice Center yesterday. After taking ten days of vocal rest, I performed three shows last weekend in Florida, and by the third one I felt terrible. So I went in and got scoped yesterday, and they told me that I re-injured my vocal cords, and that I have vocal fold trauma.”

pic.twitter.com/rJdyWcRhot

— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) May 9, 2023

Per his doctors’ advice, Wallen will be undergoing six weeks of vocal rest, cancelling all of his scheduled tour dates into the last chunk of June. According to his website, he plans to hit the stage next on Thursday June 22, when he’s booked to play Wrigley Field in Chicago. He confirmed in his video that all of the headline shows affected by this news will be rescheduled, noting that he also plans to visit the cities where he was booked to play at festivals.

“We're working on rescheduling all the dates during this timeframe,” Wallen said. “We've almost got that done, but some of them are pending, so I'll keep you updated. I won't be able to make these festivals that I have during this timeframe, but we are going to make those right in the next year. I won't be able to do the ACM Awards or the Lifting Lives event, but y'all make sure you still go – it's for a great cause.”

Wallen went on to assure fans that his vocal fold trauma shouldn’t be a long-term issue: “[My doctors] told me that if I do this the right way, that I'll get back to 100 percent,” he said, stressing that although his six-week pause on touring was a hard choice to make, it was one that he needed to. “They also said that if I don't listen to them and I keep singing, then I'll permanently damage my voice,” he added. “So for the longevity of my career, this is just a choice I had to make. I hate it, but I love you guys, and I appreciate all the support that you always give me. I'll see you soon, and I'll be back better than ever. God bless you.”

As part of his One Night At A Time world tour, Wallen performed five shows in Australia back in March. In his video, he noted to fans that he’d also suffered an injury on that trek: “I tore my lap while we were in Australia,” he said. “I've been trying to work through that quietly, but this time off is is going to help me get that back right as well.”

Wallen is currently touring in support of his record-breaking third album, One Thing At A Time. In an interview about the record’s expansive sound, he said: “I’m proud that we got to expand our horizons a little bit, with some new sounds and new subjects. Trying to grow, trying to branch out, while not forgetting everything that’s gotten me to this point. I think we’ve been able to accomplish that with this album…”