Queens of the Stone Age has cancelled their European tour to allow founder and lead singer Josh Homme to undergo emergency surgery. The rock band did not disclose the nature of the surgery, though Homme, 51, revealed in 2023 that he had successfully undergone treatment for cancer.
The group was scheduled to play a number of shows on the continent in July, but Homme “must return to the United States immediately for emergency surgery”, the band said in a Facebook post.
“Every effort was made to push through and play for you, but it is no longer an option to continue,” the statement continued.
The band canceled eight shows from 10 to 27 July, including festival appearances in France, Slovakia and Romania. “Queens are gutted we aren’t able to play for you,” the band said in the caption of the post. “We apologize for any inconvenience and share in your frustration and disappointment.”
Homme, who formed the band in 1996 in Seattle and has served as its lead singer and primary songwriter, had previously been open about his 2022 cancer diagnosis, which was successfully treated with surgery.
“I’m extremely thankful that I’ll get through this,” he told Revolver that year, “and I’ll look back at this as something that’s fucked up – but will have made me better. I’m cool with that. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do. And there’s a lot of people I want to do that with.”
“I’m good. I’m all clear,” he told ITV News in 2023, adding that he felt “the best I’ve felt all year”.
The announcement comes four days after the band said it could no longer perform at the AMA festival outside of Venice, Italy, “due to illness”. The band performed in Milan the following day.
Queens of the Stone Age released their latest album, In Times New Roman…, last July, and their North American tour dates are currently not among the initial list of cancellations.