Sum 41 have canceled their upcoming tour of Australia, including a co-headlining slot at the Good Things Festival, citing frontman Deryck Whibley’s ongoing struggle with his health.
“It is with deep sadness and regret that we announce our 2024 Australian tour is unable to proceed,” the band shared 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 band added, “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.”
Sum 41 previously canceled a show at Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley Music Hall on Dec. 4 following concerns about Whibley’s well-being. “Unfortunately, we have to make the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s show in Brisbane due to Deryck being diagnosed with pneumonia,” the band said in a statement. “He is receiving the best possible local care.”
Good Things Festival shared their own statement, noting, “Good Things is set to hit Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this weekend, with a slight tweak to the lineup. Under the guidance and direction of doctors in Australia, it has become clear Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley is too unwell to perform. Sum 41 are gutted they can’t perform, and we fully understand and appreciate fans’ disappointment. 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.”
Last September, Whibley was hospitalized with pneumonia and potential heart failure. The news was initially shared by the singer’s wife Ariana Cooper Whibley, who revealed that the medical emergency overlapped with their eighth wedding anniversary plans.
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“We spent the entire night in the ER and will now be spending the next few days here in the hospital as he fights through pneumonia,” she shared. “The scariest part is that there is a lot of strain on his heart and they are telling us that there is a possibility of heart failure. This is obviously not our first time in a situation like this but it brings back a lot of really difficult memories seeing him back in a hospital bed connected to wires and IVs.”
After returning home, Whibley updated fans, writing on social media, “I wanted to take a min to say thank you to everyone for so much love and support. Although I’m not out of the woods of this pneumonia yet and have been told to be prepared for a bit of roller coaster sickness over the next couple of weeks, I’m staying positive and doing my best to get through all of this.”
Last May, Sum 41 announced plans to split after 27 years together. Their eighth and final album, Heaven :x: Hell, was released in March. Earlier this fall, Whibley debuted his memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, which included claims he was groomed and sexually and verbally abused by the band’s first manager, Greig Nori, during the early stages of the group’s career.
