Bruce Springsteen postpones shows for 10 days under ‘doctor’s direction’

Bruce Springsteen announced additional tour dates are postponed due to “vocal issues.”

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band released a statement on Instagram on May 26 announcing that their tour dates in Prague and Milan would be postponed “under doctor’s direction,” with the band’s tour to resume on June 12 in Madrid.

The postponement comes one day after the “Born to Run” singer released a statement on Instagram that his concert in Marseille on May 25 was postponed “due to vocal issues and under doctor’s direction.”

“Following yesterday’s postponement in Marseille due to vocal issues, further examination and consulting has led doctors to determine that Bruce should not perform for the next ten days,” the May 26th statement read, noting that the singer was “recuperating comfortably.”

Springsteen was initially scheduled to perform in Prague on May 28 and in Milan on June 1 and 3. Rescheduled dates for the postponed concerts are not yet available.

The rock ‘n’ roll icon’s tour is currently scheduled to run through November, including performances across Europe, the United States and Canada.

This isn’t the first instance that Springsteen has had to postpone concerts. In September 2023, Springsteen postponed the remainder of his tour dates that year due to health issues.

Why did Bruce Springsteen postpone his shows?

Due to various health issues, Springsteen postponed several concerts during his tour in 2023.

Last August, he initially postponed two concerts in Philadelphia due to an unspecified illness. At the beginning of the following month, he postponed all planned performances for September, a decision made by “his medical advisors.”

In a statement at the time, it was revealed that Springsteen was “being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease.”

According to the American College of Gastroenterology, a peptic ulcer — often referred to as a stomach ulcer — is an open sore in the stomach lining or the first part of the small intestine.

Symptoms can include belching, bloating, feeling full too soon or uncomfortably full after eating a meal, as well as nausea and vomiting, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reported.

By the end of September, it was announced that the rest of the 2023 tour would be postponed until 2024 due to Springsteen being treated for peptic ulcer disease.

“Bruce Springsteen has continued to recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor’s advice,” a statement shared on X read, with rescheduled dates announced at the beginning of October.

What Bruce Springsteen has said about his health

Months after postponing several shows, Springsteen got candid about his health in March when he called into SiriusXM's E Street Radio.

“When I had the stomach problem, one of the big problems was that I couldn’t sing,” Springsteen explained. “You sing with your diaphragm. My diaphragm was hurting so badly that when I went to make the effort to sing, it was killing me. So I literally couldn’t sing at all.”

Springsteen said he endured his health issues for “two or three months,” in addition to “a myriad of other painful problems.”

“During the course of it — before people told me, ‘Oh no, it’s going to go away and you’re going to be OK’ — you know, you’re thinking, ‘Hey, am gonna sing again?’” he added. “This is one of the things I love to do the best, most. And right now, I can’t do it.”

Previously, Springsteen’s bandmate Steven Van Zandt told USA Today that he and the band “had no idea how much pain he was in.”

“We were just as surprised as everyone else to learn the extent of his illness,” Van Zandt said. “It was remarkable when we found out that. He is just a tough guy.”

Springsteen has also been open about how he keeps his mental and physical health in check. In a 2012 profile in The New Yorker, Springsteen revealed that he experienced “intervals of depression.” The singer's wife, Patti Scialfa, said that therapy has helped.

In the same interview, Springsteen said that he opts to run or walk on the treadmill, as well as use weight training, for his workouts.

The "Born to Run" singer has also credited healthy eating habits to his health and longstanding career performing for hours onstage into his 70's.

“The biggest thing is diet, diet, diet,” Springsteen said during a podcast with country singer Tim McGraw in 2021.

“I don’t eat too much, and I don’t eat bad food, except for every once in a while when I want to have some fun for myself,” he continued. “So I think anybody that’s trying to get in shape, exercise is always important of course, but diet is 90% of the game.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com