US Americana duo Watchhouse have been forced to cancel their upcoming Australian tour due to a medical emergency. The group, known as Mandolin Orange until 2021, were scheduled to embark on their first Australian in October, playing shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Castlemaine, and Melbourne, in addition to performing at the Out On The Weekend Festival.
However, in a statement issued by the band earlier today, Watchhouse explained that due to vocalist, violinist, and guitarist Emily Frantz requiring emergency surgery, the pair will not be able to travel to Australia next month.
Watchhouse have issued a statement confirming the cancellation of their Australian tour:
“Well y’all, it’s been a year,” they wrote. “This past weekend Emily had emergency surgery to stop hemorrhaging caused by an ectopic pregnancy.”
“It was scary and we’re so glad we were home and could get life saving care right away,” they added. “Sadly this means we can’t travel to Australia next week, and for now those shows are cancelled/refunded until we can figure out a good time to go for it.”
Ticket holders have been advised that they will receive a full refund for the now-cancelled shows. It is currently unclear when Watchhouse will be able to reschedule their debut visit to the country.
Notably, this isn’t the first time that Watchhouse had their plans to tour Australia thwarted. Alongside initial news of the tour’s announcement, Love Police founder Brian Taranto revealed that the group had been in talks to tour the country in 2020, with those shows ultimately cancelled due to the impact of COVID.
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