Rock Star Abruptly Cancels Madison Square Garden Concert Mid-Show: ‘I’m Hurt’
Rock star Jon Bon Jovi was forced to cancel a Bon Jovi concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City Thursday night midway through the show after struggling to get through his set.
The 64-year-old rocker was playing night eight of the band’s nine-show residency at the iconic venue as part of its Forever Tour when he announced he had to stop the show.
“I’m sorry, I’m hurt and you’re not getting the best of me,” he said after singing “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Page Six reports.
“Don’t throw away your ticket stubs. I’m gonna figure something out, OK?” he continued. “Just hold onto it, we’ll figure out how to reschedule.”
“But I’m gonna have to cool it for the night,” he said before leaving the stage. “I feel great.”
Representatives for Bon Jovi told Page Six in a statement that a sinus infection forced the frontman to end the show.
“The Bon Jovi concert at Madison Square Garden ended after 90 mins tonight,” the statement began.
“Jon Bon Jovi spoke from stage and told fans he has been battling a sinus infection which led to the show’s early ending,” it continued. “As part of the Bon Jovi residency at Madison Square Garden, Jon has said numerous times that it has been a joy to return to live shows for the band.”
The statement concluded, “Updated information will be available shortly.”
Bon Jovi is still scheduled to perform Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The band is then scheduled to wrap up the tour with five shows in the United Kingdom in August and September.
The Forever Tour is the band’s first tour since Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord surgery in 2022. While announcing the tour, he said, “There is a lot of joy in this announcement — joy that we can share these nights together with our amazing fans and joy that the band can be together.”
He spoke about the injury in a 2024 four-part Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. “One of my vocal cords was literally atrophied,” he said in the docuseries. “Your vocal cords are supposed to look parallel, or let’s pretend that they are as thick as a thumb — one of mine was as thick as a thumb and the other one was as thick as a pinky. So, the strong one was pushing the weak one aside, and I wasn’t singing well.”
He told the Sunday Times in 2024 that he might never sing live again following his surgery if he can’t sing at the level he’s accustomed to. “If the singing is not great, if I can’t be the guy I once was … then I’m done.” However, last month he told PEOPLE that he was “fully recovered.”
“It was longer than I’d ever expected, but it had to be right. We never lost faith,” he said.
