Lynyrd Skynyrd were forced to cancel a series of shows in the past week as guitarist Gary Rossington underwent heart surgery.
"Due to an unforeseen medical emergency by one of the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd,” wrote the band on Facebook on August 1 (via the Quad-City Times), “the band will be unable to perform on August 3 in Davenport, Iowa at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds and August 4 in Washington, Missouri at the Washington Town & Country Fair. Please contact the venues directly for information on ticket refunds or additional replacement programming. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience."
The show cancellations reportedly led to a series of false media reports that singer Johnny Van Zant had suffered a heart attack, so the band’s management addressed those rumors and issued an update on Rossington’s status on August 7.
“There have been false reports (fake news) of Johnny Van Zant suffering a heart attack, which is not true,” writes Vector Management. “This past Friday, Gary Rossington had to undergo a procedure to address some blockage in his arteries to his heart.Gary was released Friday evening and has been home recovering and in good spirits.
"Doctors have advised that he recover this week, forcing the band to cancel this past weekend's shows and tomorrow at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD.
"The band will commence touring this Friday in Virginia Beach with Hank Williams Jr and Aaron Lewis. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused the fans and hope to see you on the road in the near future.”
The lone original member of the Southern rock icons, Rossington suffered a heart attack in late 2015, and underwent heart surgery last August that caused the group to shut down their summer 2016 tour for two weeks.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are currently playing dates across the US, with shows scheduled into early December.
See also:
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Lynyrd Skynyrd halt tour as guitarist undergoes heart surgery
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