The Black Keys Cancel Australian Tour, Including Bluesfest

Blues rockers The Black Keys have cancelled their upcoming Australian leg of their Turn Blue World Tour, including their appearance at Byron Bay Bluesfest.

The tour’s cancellation follows a shoulder injury sustained by drummer Patrick Carney in January this year while body surfing in the Caribbean. The injury promoted the band to cancel their European dates, and while they hoped to resume touring by April, they have now announced the recovery process will take longer than hoped.

“We are very sorry to have to cancel our upcoming performances through April 23,” said The Black Keys in a statement. “Patrick sustained a dislocated and broken shoulder in January that required surgery. Working with the doctors, surgeons and physiotherapists since January, we had expected Patrick to be ready to return to touring in April.

“The recovery process and physical therapy has taken longer than anticipated and unfortunately Patrick is still unable to perform and needs additional time to heal. We thank all of our fans for their ongoing support and we look forward to getting back on the road as soon as possible.”

“We were incredibly excited about the shows that were about to happen but there is no way around cancelling the tour with the extent of Pat’s injury,” added The Black Keys’ Australian and New Zealand Promoter, Brian Taranto from Love Police Touring. “You just can’t have The Black Keys with no drums. We sincerely apologise for the hassle this cancellation will cause fans.”

The Black Keys’ cancelled appearances also include the inaugural Rolling Green festival and the 2015 Byron Bay Bluesfest. The Black Keys are now the fourth act to pull out of next week’s Bluesfest, following Australian band Sheppard, English singer-songwriter Ben Howard, and headliner Lenny Kravitz.

The Alabama Shakes will now take The Black Key’s headline slot on the festival’s Mojo stage on Friday 3rd April, and Paolo Nutini will appear immediately before them. Bluesfest director Peter Noble has said that the festival are “on the hunt” for one more artist to play on the Friday, but added that “it is going to be extremely difficult to get an international artist to play, given the requirements to get visas in time.”

“We love The Black Keys, and will miss them at Bluesfest this year, and look forward to having them play in future. Maybe we can even give Patrick some body surfing tips from the experts here in Byron Bay, where the waves are usually pretty gentle.”

UPDATE 23/03/15 3:56pm: The cancellation of The Black Key’s Australian tour has also prompted the cancellation of the inaugural Rolling Green event, which the blues rockers were scheduled to headline.

Fellow Bluesfest act Band Of Skulls were also due play that event as well as support The Black Keys on their headline dates. While these will no longer go ahead, Music Feeds can confirm that Band of Skulls will still visit Australia for their Bluesfest appearance as well as their two previously scheduled sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne.

UPDATE 01/04/15: Bluesfest organisers have announced that Melbourne band British India will replace The Black Keys at Bluesfest 2015.

Gallery: The Black Keys – Sydney, Entertainment Centre 22/10/2012

The Black Keys Cancelled Australian Tour Dates

Thursday, 2nd April 2015 –

Riverstage, Brisbane QLD

With Special Guests Band of Skulls & Bad//Dreems

Tickets: Oztix, Ticketmaster

Friday, 3rd April 2015

Bluesfest, Byron Bay NSW

Tickets: Bluesfest

Sunday, 5th April 2015

Rolling Green, Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley VIC

Tickets: Rolling Green

Tuesday, 7th April 2015

Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne VIC

With Special Guests Bad//Dreems

Tickets: Ticketek

Friday, 10th April 2015

Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney NSW

With Special Guests Bad//Dreems

Tickets: Ticketek

Saturday, 11th April 2015

Rolling Green, Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley NSW

Tickets: Rolling Green

Tuesday, 14th April 2015

Red Hill Auditorium, Perth WA

With Special Guests Band of Skulls

Tickets: Oztix

Thursday, 16th April 2015

Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide SA

With Special Guests Band of Skulls

Tickets: Ticketek