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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Charlotte McLaughlin

‘Freak accident’ cancels British Kings Of Leon shows

Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill has said some UK and European tour shows this summer are being cancelled after he suffered a “freak accident”.

The singer, who is part of the US rockers with his brothers Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill, was due to play at Blackweir Fields, Cardiff, and Lancashire’s Lytham Festival over the next two months.

According to statement from the band, he has a “serious” shattered heel injury and needed “a significant emergency surgery that will prevent him from travelling and performing”.

On Instagram on Wednesday, Followill posted a video to the band’s account saying: “Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that those (European) shows will have to be cancelled due to a freak accident that happened the other day, broke my foot pretty bad, just playing with my kids, it’s pretty gnarly, I’ll spare (you) all the details.

“But we’re fortunate enough to have some great doctors here in Nashville that gave me emergency surgery, and I’m on the mend, but they’ve told me that I can’t be on my feet or travelling or anything for the next eight weeks or so.

“And that’s a big bummer, man, we were so excited, we’ve been preparing for this tour for a long time.

“We’ve been preparing for a lot of things we’ve been in the studio recording, we have a bunch of new songs, we were going to debut a few of them on this run, we had a lot of exciting things planned, and now we’re just going to have to pivot.”

Matthew Followill, Nathan Followill, Caleb Followill and Jared Followill of The Kings Of Leon. (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

He added he was “very excited” to share the new music, and added that in the “meantime, we’re going to do whatever work we can while my while I have these limitations”.

Before ending the video showing his foot, Followill said: “Everything’s going to be good and and hopefully we’ll see y’all soon. Wish us luck.”

The band said: “The anticipated recovery process is expected to take eight weeks, under strict guidance of expert orthopaedic specialists. The band regrets to report that they will need to cancel all upcoming UK and European festival headline shows in June and July of this year.”

Blackweir Live and Lytham Festival both said they would refund customers who had paid to see the group.

Lytham Festival said: “Due to the cancellation of the Kings of Leon dates in June and July, we are sad to announce that they will no longer be performing at Lytham Festival on Wednesday 2nd July.

“We wish Caleb a speedy recovery. Having explored all possibilities for a replacement act, it has not been possible at this late stage and therefore Lytham Festival 2025 will now run for four days from the 3rd – 6th July 2025.”

Blackweir said it was “sad” the show on June 29 was cancelled.

The Nashville four-piece are best known for the songs Sex On Fire, Use Somebody, and Notion.

The tour, in promotion of their ninth studio album Can We Please Have Fun, will also miss out on shows in Spain, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Belgium, and Portugal in June and July.

Kings Of Leon are next due to be in the UK in August for the Come Together Festival in Newcastle and the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth after performing at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey towards the end of July.

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