American rock band Aerosmith have confirmed that they are delaying their upcoming Las Vegas residency.
The announcement, posted on their Instagram page, follows the band’s frontman Steven Tyler’s decision to enter a rehab centre following a relapse.
“As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years,” the band wrote.
“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.”
They added: “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.”
“Thank you for your understanding and for your support for Steven during this time.”
Though the band’s Deuces Are Wild show was originally due to begin on June 17 at the Park MGM, all dates for June and July have been cancelled and it has now been pushed back to September.
The Park MGM website have announced that all ticket holders would be automatically refunded.
Tyler, who is now 74, formed Aerosmith in the 1970s along with bandmates Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Ray Tabano.
Together, the band had multiple hits, including Walk This Way, Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing and Dude Looks Like A Lady.
He has also previously spoken about his struggles with substance abuse in the 70s and 80s, telling People magazine that he took “heroin, coke, Valium, anything that anyone came near with.”
Things became so dire that his bandmates and manager staged an intervention in 1988.
“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,’” he told Haute Living.
“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.”
In 2019, he told GQ that he had been sober for nine years.
