Fontaines D.C. have had to cancel two further shows due to frontman Grian Chatten’s vocal injury.
The band had been due to kick off their North American tour yesterday (September 20) in Seattle, but pulled out of the opening show, with Chatten revealing he had “come down with some kind of flu” that was impacting his voice.
Now, the Dublin group have confirmed that two further shows – in Portland’s Roseland Theater tonight (September 21) and in Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom tomorrow (September 22) – have also been called off for the same reason.
Despite the rest and medication, I can now not even speak without pain. It breaks my heart to have to cancel the show tonight in Portland, and tomorrow in Vancouver, two shows I was really looking forward to.
— Fontaines D.C. (@fontainesdublin) September 21, 2024
“Despite rest and medication, I can now not even speak without pain,” Chatten wrote on X. “It breaks my heart to have to cancel the show tonight in Portland, and tomorrow in Vancouver, two shows I was really looking forward to.”
But there is just no way of making them work. Please know that I am very grateful to those who bought tickets and very sorry that I can’t play for you. Grian.
— Fontaines D.C. (@fontainesdublin) September 21, 2024
“But there is just no way of making them work,” he continued. “Please know that I am very grateful to those who bought tickets and very sorry that I can’t play for you. Grian.”
No further information has been shared about the remainder of the tour, which is due to run up until October 20 in Philadelphia. New York indie rockers and NME Cover alumni Been Stellar are serving as opening act at all dates. You can visit here to purchase any remaining tickets.
Fontaines DC 2024 North American ‘Romance’ tour dates are:
SEPTEMBER
24 — San Francisco, CA, The Warfield
26 — Los Angeles, CA, Hollywood Palladium
27 — San Diego, CA, SOMA
28 — Pomona, CA, Fox Theater
30 — Phoenix, AZ, The Van Buren
OCTOBER
2 — Englewood, CO, Gothic Theatre
4 — Lawrence, KS, The Granada
5 — Omaha, NE, Slowdown
6 — Madison, WI, The Sylvee
8 — Minneapolis, MN, The Fillmore
9 — Chicago, IL, The Salt Shed
11 — Toronto, ON, Queen Elizabeth Theatre
12 — Montreal, QC, MTELUS
13 — Boston, MA, Roadrunner
15 — Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Paramount
18 — Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
20 — Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore
Fontaines’ fourth album ‘Romance’ was released last month, their first with new label XL Recordings. In a glowing five-star review of the James Ford-produced record, NME shared: “‘Romance’ offers moments of wonder and gravity while also feeling occasionally foreboding.”
For the direction of the album, the band told NME they wanted to implement a distinct move away from the rockier sound of their debut album, ‘Dogrel’.
“To be creatively understood by too many people feels like flies settling all over your clothes and all over your face. Every now and again you have to fucking shake them off, just to see who you are again. That’s what we wanted to do,” he said.
“We spoke a lot about visual references, films and stuff like that. I’m not even messing, but we used to speak about: ‘What kind of weather is it in this song?’ We could meet on a plain that didn’t have anything to do with music, arrangements or instruments. It’s more about abstractly getting to the right place. I think it’s more interesting to work in that why because you’re at less danger of sounding contrived or unoriginal.”
Later this year, Chatten and co. will embark on their 2024 UK and Ireland headline tour, which is set to take place in November and December. That stint includes two nights at Alexandra Palace in the capital.
The group also recently unveiled news of a huge outdoor show at London’s Finsbury Park, due to take place on Saturday July 5, 2025. It will mark the Irish band’s biggest headline performance to date, with support coming from Amyl And The Sniffers and Kneecap. Find remaining tickets to their UK shows here.
The band have recently been hailed by Elton John as “the best band out there at the moment”, while they have declared that they “couldn’t really give a shit” about the Oasis reunion.