Judas Priest has been forced to cancel the remaining dates on their current North American tour after guitarist Richie Faulkner was hospitalized with “major heart condition issues.”
The band were in the midst of their “50 Years of Heavy Metal” tour, previously postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following their set at Louder Than Life festival on Sunday, September 26th, the band announced that they would postpone all scheduled dates on their North American tour, whilst Richie Faulkner seeks medical attention.
The North American tour was scheduled to continue through a November 5th show in Hamilton, Ontario, with over than 20 dates still left on the itinerary.
“It is with deep regret that we have to postpone the rest of our US tour. Richie has major medical heart condition issues which have landed him in hospital where he is being treated,” frontman Rob Halford wrote in a statement.
“In the meantime, we are all sending love to our Falcon for a speedy recovery. As soon as we have any updates from his doctors on when we can reschedule the dates we will of course announce them … [existing] tickets will be valid.”
Richie Faulkner joined the Judas Priest fold in 2011, replacing founding guitarist K.K. Downing. During his tenure with the heavy metal legends, Faulkner has performed on the bands critically lauded albums Redeemer of Souls and Firepower.
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