A music legend returned to performing this year after retiring seven years ago, but the tour appears to be taking its toll.
Paul Simon canceled concerts Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia due to “intense back pain.” The singer-songwriter, also known for his work with Art Garfunkel as Simon & Garfunkel, plans to undergo surgery so he can continue his remaining 2025 tour dates.
“Regretfully, Paul Simon must cancel two shows tonight June 28 and tomorrow night June 29 at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music. Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain. Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention,” a statement said.
“Unfortunately, we have to cancel these shows at this time, as we don’t have the ability to reschedule them. However, we are hopeful after this minor surgical procedure which has been scheduled in the next few days, Paul will be able to complete the tour as well as look into returning to make up these dates.”
Fans who purchased tickets for the Philly shows will be automatically refunded. Simon is next scheduled to perform July 7 at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California, followed by a five-night run July 9-16 in Los Angeles.
The injury comes a little more than halfway through 60-plus concerts this year, Simon’s first trek since retiring in 2018 due to significant hearing loss. He’s made adjustments to performing, such as larger speakers placed around him when he’s playing, and no longer plays certain songs like his most enduring hit, “You Can Call Me Al.”
“It was incredibly frustrating. I was very angry at first that this had happened,” Simon told CBS last year, adding that he feared going completely deaf.
Simon, 83, is a 16-time Grammy winner and a two-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a solo artist and with Simon & Garfunkel. His catalog includes solo favorites like “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “Kodachrome,” “Still Crazy All These Years,” and “Slip Slidin’ Away,” plus folk-rock classics with Garfunkel like “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “Mrs. Robinson.”
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