Aerosmith Cancelled Their Summer Shows In Las Vegas After Steven Tyler Checked Into Rehab
Aerosmith was supposed to kick off a Las Vegas residency starting next month, but today the band announced that they’re cancelling their summer concerts. Steven Tyler has suffered a recent relapse and voluntarily checked into rehab. The Blue Army is extra blue today (apparently that’s what blue-collar/blue jean-wearing Aerosmith fans call themselves, thank you Google).
The band released the official statement on social media. It reads:
As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years. After foot surgery to prepare for the stage and the necessity of pain management during the process, he has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health and recovery.
We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must cancel our first set of Las Vegas Residency dates this June and July while he focuses on his well-being.
We will continue our 2022 dates starting in September, and we’ll let you know any further updates as soon as we can. We are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who often travel great distances to experience our shows.
The caption explains that fans who bought their tickets on Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded, and those who purchased them elsewhere will need to contact their “point of purchase.” So if you’re the kind of guy who buys Aerosmith tickets in bulk and sells them for profit on Craigslist, expect a lot of distraught voicemails this afternoon. Here’s Aerosmith’s post:
As the statement mentioned, 74-year-old Steven has struggled with his sobriety for decades. A couple of years ago he did an interview with Haute Living, and said that he and his bandmates “made it from ’72 to ’79 not necessarily stoned, but beautiful… then we all became very fucked up.” He explains that, back then, “there were no such things as rehabs; there were mental institutions.” Steven went to institutions in 1984 and 1986, but he says he “didn’t really get it.” He finally got sober in 1988, after the band “pulled an intervention” on him:
“The early ’80s were terrible, and drugs took us down. I was the first one to get treatment. There was a moment in ’88 where management and the band pulled an intervention on me. They thought, ‘Get the lead singer sober, and all our problems would be over.’ So, I got sober, and you know it took me many years to get over the anger of them sending me to rehab while they went on vacation. But today because of that moment… I am grateful and owe a thanks to them for my sobriety.”
Steven estimates that he spent $20 million on drugs during his lifetime. He drank to excess and used coke, OxyContin, heroin, methamphetamine, methadone, LSD, and marijuana (gasp!). Here he is talking about addiction with Oprah:
Steven’s an old pro at rehab, so hopefully, he can get sober and return to the stage. Do it for Vegas, Steve! That town can’t handle any more residency cancellations!
Pic: Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.com