Chris Stapleton Confirms That Broken Finger is Cause for Show Postponements
This story has been updated.
After rumor and speculation ran rampant for nearly 36 hours about why Chris Stapleton had suddenly decided to postpone eight shows and cancel his appearance at the upcoming CMA Fest in Nashville without any explanation, the award-winning singer and songwriter finally addressed the issue on Thursday (6-1) night via a post on social media, citing a broken finger along with other hand ailments as the need to postpone shows.
“First of all, I want to thank you for all of the positive thoughts and kind words you have shared over the last few days. So many of you have been inconvenienced and I’m grateful for your patience and graciousness,” Stapleton said. “After seeing a specialist, I have some information to share. I’m on the road to recovery from a broken bone & a detached tendon in my right index finger. The doctor is hopeful that with some physical therapy I will be playing guitar again soon.”
Why an explanation wasn’t given in the original announcement of postponements wasn’t addressed specifically in Stapleton’s statement, but Stapleton’s publicist is saying they wanted to speak to a specialist before making the announcement to the cause of the delayed dates. We also don’t have an explanation of how Stapleton was injured. Stapleton did explain why the thought he couldn’t make the dates while delegating guitar duties to someone else.
“Right now, I can’t possibly give you guys the show you deserve,” Stapleton explained. “I always want to give you my very best. There is little in this world that I enjoy more than getting to make music with all of you night after night. Thank you for the privilege. Your support and understanding through all of this lets me know now, more than ever, I have the best fans in the world.”
Shows in California scheduled to start Thursday evening in Fresno, in Mississippi and Alabama next weekend, as well as a round of shows in two weeks in West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana will all be rescheduled. See the full list of dates below.
POSTPONED DATES:
June 1 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
June 2 – Mt. View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 3 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
June 9 – Southaven, MS – Bankplus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
June 10 – Birmingham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
June 11 – Nashville, TN – CMA Fan Fest – CANCELLED
June 15 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Civic Center
June 16 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 17 – Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center
***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***
Rescheduled tour dates have just been announced:
August 31 – Fresno, California – Save Mart Center
September 1 – Mt. View, California – Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 2 – Wheatland, California – Toyota Amphitheatre
September 8 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Riverbend Music Center
September 9 – Noblesville, Indiana – Klipsch Music Center
September 15 – Southaven, Mississippi – Bankplus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
September 16 – Birmingham, Alabama – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
November 2 – Charleston, West Virginia – Charleston Civic Center
June 1, 2017 @ 8:18 pm
He needs a new publicist. His FB page announced the cancellations and gave no reason, and caused great angst. Why could they not just say Chris injured his hand, needs to cancel some shows, details coming? It’s not like it was some legal or domestic issue with publicity implications; he hurt his hand.
June 1, 2017 @ 8:25 pm
Oh snap. It probably is a legal or domestic issue! I am so naive.
June 2, 2017 @ 3:18 am
Terrible posts, Nicki. The “I want someone fired” post was bad enough, but then you make it much worse.
June 5, 2017 @ 8:03 am
You should send in a resume.
June 1, 2017 @ 9:00 pm
just saw this on instagram and felt nothing but relief. mend well, Chris! ? we’ll see you soon. ?
June 2, 2017 @ 6:41 am
Yeah, the same. I get that people are disappointed but give the guy a break. He’s injured and needs to heal. I’m glad it’s not more serious than first thought.
June 5, 2017 @ 8:11 am
Me to. Sometimes we don’t realize what we take for granite. He is so talented.
June 2, 2017 @ 4:23 am
A little disappointed here. How hard is it to hire a guitar player and honor your commitments. He can still sing and I’m sure a great many pickers would jump at the chance for that gig
June 2, 2017 @ 4:43 am
I’d break my finger too, to get out of playing CMA fest.
June 2, 2017 @ 8:44 am
For the win!
June 2, 2017 @ 4:49 am
I’m with deserter, this is disappointing. I get that chris isn’t a great guitar player and wants to play guitar at husband shows. But when you get to the level chris is currently at, people are booking plane tickets and hotel room so to come see you play. That’s a significant investment & one not easily recouped for a postponement & later date. And they aren’t doing those things for his guitar playing, they’re doing it for his songs and his voice. So you hire another guitar player, and do the shows. Also if the injury really needs to heal all the way, I see more postponements coming.
I do wonder if chris isn’t totally comfortable performing without the guitar.
June 2, 2017 @ 5:04 am
I think you could be right on that; as in he isn’t comfortable performing without the guitar…Chris is an interesting type of performer….whenever I see him I always feel like he’s not really into connecting with the crowd; he comes out, he plays his ass off and he sings…not much else to it. I can’t imagine how he would be just walking out there and having to sing minus the guitar….I feel awkward for him just thinking about it lol
Hope he heals up good and quick. I got a bone chip fracture in my left index finger in April….I felt like I couldn’t play right for a long time! Even after it healed up pretty good, it was so stiff, wouldn’t bend properly…and that was a small injury and I’m not even close to Stapleton playing level….physical therapy ought to help him with that though.
June 2, 2017 @ 6:24 am
He can just go out there and hold a guitar like George Strait does if he truly feel uncomfortable without it. People are there for his voice, not his guitar playing. I was attending one of the postponed dates and i gotta say this news peeves me a little. I’m glad he and his family are basically OK but I assumed it would take something much more serious to cancel so many big concerts. These are not small clubs he is playing.
But if Sam Outlaw pulls through and plays a killer show tonight, I’ll forget all about it. Yeah that’s right, I was gonna see Chris Stapleton and Sam Outlaw on consecutive nights. The Country gods giveth and the country gods taketh.
June 2, 2017 @ 7:31 am
Yeah I get being peeved…I would be bummed too, but shit happens. I go for his guitar playing too, to be honest…not just his voice….but hey, that’s just me.
June 2, 2017 @ 7:29 am
I recently saw a favorite band of mine and they were awful – something was way off. It’s been over a month now, and a still can’t listen to their music. I wish they had canceled/ postponed the show. And I traveled 500 miles by car, paid 2 nights for a hotel.
It’s best the artist is comfortable and gets it right. Stapleton is dealing with pain meds (see Tiger Woods). Playing his guitar is important to his performance. Take that away and he’ll be trying to figure out what to do with his hands, there would be an xtra person on the stage during intimate acoustic sets.
I applaude him for getting it right and not mailing it in.
June 2, 2017 @ 7:54 am
I’ve seen Chris twice and I can tell you that if I had the option of seeing him with someone else playing guitar or having the show postponed, I’d vote postpone every single time.
June 2, 2017 @ 8:29 am
I got the chance to see CS play right before he blew up. Not that I disliked CS or liked him at this time, I really hadn’t listen to him enough to know what he’s about. I can say, after seeing him play, his guitar playing combined with his voice won me over. The light bulb went off and I understood what the hype was about. So I agree with you, him without his guitar would be better off not playing. But at the same time, you have to adapt to your surroundings as an entertainer at the level he’s at now. Instead of canceling these shows, why not play them with somebody sitting in and reschedule them once you are back up on your feet? The venue’s are booked, the band is booked, play the gig. This gives the fan every option they could wish for and if they are still mad, that’s on them.
In 2000, I saw Metallica in Dallas. Hetfield injured himself the day before on a jet-ski. Instead of canceling the show, the other bands joined in and helped play a 2hr set. Metallica came back 3months later and did 2 intimate make up shows at 4hrs a piece. I believe Eric Church did something similar when his band got sick before a gig. Again, there are many options on how you can handle this to make sure you give your fans what they paid for. But at the end of the day, it’s up to CS and his management team to figure this out.
June 2, 2017 @ 9:14 am
Eric Church’s entire crew got very sick due to a stomach virus that virtually everyone got except for Church, and so he came out on stage and performed a show totally acoustic, and came back later to play a remake anyway. That acoustic show has since gone down as one of his best shows ever and bought him huge cred from his already-loyal fan base.
There’s an artist named Possessed by Paul James who when I see him, I pray he busts a string or his amp blows up because he might be even better when everything goes haywire and he sings a capella. Sometimes when bad things happen, this is when the best moments can arise, and the true dedication or talent of an artist can thrive.
I totally understand Chris Stapleton wanting to put on a top notch show, and not feeling he can give 100% without a guitar in his hand. I can also understand booking flights, getting hotel rooms, setting the kids up with babysitters, asking off from work, only to have it all get cancelled on you. I can see this both ways. I do agree how the postponements were handled could have been better, especially if it was “just a hand,” but these couldnt’ve been easy decisions to make either. This is one of those situations where both sides (to cancel, or not to cancel) have very valid arguments, and it just sucks all the way around.
June 2, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Yeah, this is tough. No matter how you cut it, he’s not going to please everybody in this situation. This will be a learning experience for CS and crew, I’m his management was controlling how this was to be let out. Like it or not, he has stepped up to the next level which means a lot more pressure is on him and he’ll have to do things that his management tells him to do when it comes to PR. Glad he’s ok and for the record, he puts on a hell of a live show.
June 4, 2017 @ 1:51 pm
I honestly think Chris could sing BETTER without the guitar. Like back in 1992, when James Hetfield got his arm torched, and Metallica got someone to fill for his guitar part. Hetfield’s vocals were significantly better because of it.
June 2, 2017 @ 5:21 am
I wonder, is two weeks long enough to fully recover from a broken bone/tendon separation?
June 2, 2017 @ 7:46 am
It probably is, only because it is his strumming hand, not his fretboard hand.
June 7, 2017 @ 11:29 am
Ha! I just noticed this…I automatically assumed it was his fretboard hand…ok Chris, seriously, you’ll be fine…get your ass out there and strum with that beat up hand…you can make it work. Lol. Seriously though, he will likely be fine in a couple weeks if it just his strumming hand.
June 2, 2017 @ 7:22 am
wut a pusy I wunse played a hole tewer with a broken jaw broken rist an to stab wunds an didnt miss wun dad gum note to meny prima donnas out there now trigg I tell u wut
June 2, 2017 @ 7:48 am
I told ya not to mess wit trace adkins, boy!!
June 2, 2017 @ 1:56 pm
Chris’s guitar playing is such an intricate part of his sound that it’s hard to duplicate. He is a stylist. If he hired someone to play people would complain if it didn’t sound the same. I have known the guy for years and he wants nothing more than to play music for his fans. Believe me he hates to cancel as much as his fans hate it. He will come back later in the year and make up the shows and blow y’all away! So cmon cut him some slack
June 2, 2017 @ 2:38 pm
Just hush nicki, I seriously doubt he’d have any domestic issues that involved anything physical, Morgane would whoop his ass. LOL But he just seems like a big ole teddy bear. Best kinda men. ?
June 2, 2017 @ 3:03 pm
Suck it up Chris …hire a picker and keep singin ‘…..
June 2, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
Get well soon Chris.
My new favorite singer…authentic. Something pop country drivel is missing.