Sum 41 has canceled their entire Australian tour, including their co-headlining slot at the Good Things Festival, due to frontman Deryck Whibley’s battle with pneumonia.
The band announced the decision on Dec. 5, citing medical advice from Australian doctors who deemed Whibley too unwell to perform.
“It is with deep sadness and regret that we announce our 2024 Australian tour is unable to proceed,” the band shared in a statement on social media. “We were beyond excited to deliver this tour from December 4 – December 12, and connect with our Aussie fans once more.”
“Now that we’re here though, and under the guidance and direction of multiple Australian doctors, it’s clear that Deryck is too unwell to perform. We understand and appreciate your disappointment – we’re gutted too.”
The statement continued: “The good news is Good Things Festival is still going ahead in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this weekend with an incredible line-up of local and international acts. We can’t be there, but get along for us and have the best time.”
The tour was set to support Sum 41’s eighth and final album, Heaven :x: Hell, released in March. The dates were highly anticipated as part of the band’s farewell run, leading up to their final-ever show at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena in January 2025.
The cancellation follows the band’s earlier decision to call off their Dec. 4 sideshow at Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley Music Hall. At the time, the band stated, “Unfortunately, we have to make the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s show in Brisbane due to Deryck being diagnosed with pneumonia. He is receiving the best possible local care.”
This marks the second time Australian fans have missed out on seeing the Canadian rockers due to Whibley’s health. In 2011, the band canceled their appearance at the Soundwave Festival after Whibley was hospitalized with pneumonia.
For their final act, Sum 41 will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the 54th Annual JUNO Awards on March 30, 2025, in Vancouver.
Despite the setback, the Good Things Festival will proceed as planned, with Korn headlining the three-city event, alongside acts like Violent Femmes, Jet, Northlane, and Billy Corgan.
“Sum 41 are gutted they can’t perform, and we fully understand and appreciate fans’ disappointment,” the festival organizers said in a statement. “Deryck’s health and wellbeing is the focus and priority though, and we hope you will join us in sending him well wishes for his recovery.”
The festival kicks off in Melbourne on Dec. 6, followed by dates in Sydney and Brisbane. Ticket holders for Sum 41’s sideshows will receive refund information shortly.
After earning its first No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart in over two decades earlier this year, Sum 41 scored another as “Dopamine” hit No. 1 on the Nov. 30-dated survey.
The song follows the two-week Alternative Airplay command for “Landmines” in March. The latter led 22 years, five months, and three weeks after Sum 41’s first No. 1, “Fat Lip,” in August 2001, rewriting the record for the longest break between rulers for an act in the chart’s 36-year history.
It shattered the previous best, held by The Killers, who waited 13 years and six months between the reigns of “When You Were Young” in 2006 and “Caution” in 2020.
Whibley’s recently released memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, also became a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon’s punk musician biographies chart following its October debut. In the deeply personal autobiography, the frontman reflects on his rise to fame with Sum 41, navigating the highs of international success and accolades like Grammy nominations and MTV Video Music Award.
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