Huge rock band cancels string of concerts as frontman seeks ‘urgent medical attention’
They are coming to the UK and Ireland in the summer.
Fontaines D.C. have cancelled a string of concerts in South America so frontman Grian Chatten can seek ‘urgent medical attention’.
The Starburster hitmakers were due to play in Mexico City, and the Lollapalooza festival in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, but have been forced to pull the plug due to the frontman suffering a herniated disc.
Grian wrote on the band’s Instagram Story: ‘I am devastated to announce that, due to a herniated disc, we must cancel our show in Mexico tomorrow night and our forthcoming dates in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.
‘I have been really excited to play these beautiful countries for years and it really hurts to be here in Mexico City and not be able to go onstage, but I have been advised today that I require urgent medical attention.
‘We are very grateful for all your support and, with all my heart, I am sorry that I can’t play for you.’
From their statement it seems the shows are being cancelled entirely as there was no suggestion of new postponed dates.
He said he was ‘devestated’ to make the announcement (Picture: Simone Joyner/Getty Images)The group recently finished a tour of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and are next scheduled to hit the road with shows in North America in mid-April, though it is currently unclear if the singer’s injury will affect those dates.
In July the post-punk rockers are set to perform in Finsbury Park, supported by Amyl and the Sniffers and Kneecap in their first UK and Ireland performance this year.
After this, they are billed to perform at TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow on July 11, in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park on July 13, at Cardiff Castle on July 30, in Portlaw, Ireland, on July 31 and in Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park on August 15.
What is a herniated disc?A slipped disc happens when a soft cushion of tissue between the bones in your spine bulges outwards. The pain is caused as it presses on nerves.
It usually gets better with rest, gentle exercise and painkillers, according to the NHS.
Symptoms include:
Lower back pain Numbness or tingling in shoulders, back, arms, hands, legs or feet Neck pain Problems bending or straightening back Muscle weakness Pain in buttocks, hips, or legs if the disc is pressing on sciatic nerve It seems the shows are cancelled rather than postponed (Picture: Martyn Goodacre/Redferns)Fontaines D.C. have found mainstream success in the last few years with hits including Boys in the Better Land, Starburster, and Bug following the release of their debut album, Dogrel, released in 2019.
Their second album A Hero’s Death was nominated for a Grammy in 2021, just four years after the five-piece band formed in Dublin.
Skinty Fia followed in 2022, and rocketed to number one in Ireland, and put them on all the festival bills, as they also opened for the Arctic Monkeys on their tour.
Last month, the group revealed their latest song It’s Amazing To Be Young was written for guitarist Carlos O’Connell’s newborn daughter.
Bassist Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan III told NME: ‘I’m glad it got to see the light of day, because it is a special song to us. More so for the way it was written than the song itself, in a weird way. It started life in the presence of Carlos’ newborn and it’s just a message for her, you know.
The five-piece rockers formed in 2017 and have reached mainstream success in recent years (Picture: Matthew Baker/Getty Images)‘It was really heartwarming. Sometimes as people we can be a bit cynical. The world around us can make you that way if you’re paying attention to it.
‘Sometimes optimism feels like a necessary delusion, but with the birth of a new child we were introduced to a really pure and deep beauty and hope that can’t be debated away by anyone jaded or even by ourselves.’
The song – which features a video directed by Luna Carmoon – was written for the band’s last album Romance, which was released last year, but it didn’t make the final tracklist.
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