The Rock Stops Now: Aerosmith Cancels Mo Shows, Retires From Touring

Fans hoping to see Aerosmith one last time in Missouri received disappointing news late Friday afternoon, August 2, 2024, as the band made a very important touring announcement.

Aerosmith was scheduled to play St. Louis and Kansas City on their long-delayed Peace Out tour on October 14, 2024, and January 25, 2025, respectively. Unfortunately, those plans were scrapped late this afternoon when Aerosmith officially canceled their tour and announced they would no longer be a road band.

The band posted a statement on their website and their social media channels announcing the end of the band touring and provided a little bit of explanation on why:

"We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing.  As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other.  He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury.  We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision - as a band of brothers - to retire from the touring stage."

Of course, the details in announcements like this are important. This afternoon's announcement only said that the band was done touring. The band decided to end the band's touring chapter with Steven's voice not recovering the way they had hoped.

At this point, I'm not sure anyone in Aerosmith knows what the future holds for the band. Aerosmith is as much a business as it is a creative endeavor for the members. Tyler, Perry, and the rest of the group will probably be managing the group's affairs for the rest of their lives. Yet, whether the band ending touring effectively ends the creative aspect of the band remains to be seen.

Blabbermouth reports that Joe Perry told Andrew Daly of Rock Candy that the band was remixing some of the group's early recordings and finding interesting outtakes that might see the light of day. He also hinted that Tyler had written some stuff and said new music from the band was a possibility.

The bottom line is Tyler's voice. None of us are privy to more than the group has told us, which is that Tyler's vocal recovery hasn't gone well enough to get the band on the road for a major tour. Is Tyler's voice good enough to sing on new songs? Can the band do one-off shows or have an occasional award show appearance? Who knows. I'm just speculating here, asking questions.

We don't know what Aerosmith will be doing moving forward or if the band decided that announcing they were retiring from touring could blunt the news to fans that the band was creatively done.  We'll all have to wait and see where it goes.

Aerosmith says Peace Out ticket holders who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster for shows in Missouri will automatically receive refunds. Those who purchased tickets through third-party resale sites such as SeatGeek, StubHub, Vivid Seats, etc., must contact the sites for more details on obtaining a refund.

Aerosmith has been part of my musical journey since someone brought their greatest hits record, the one with the red cover and the logo in white released in 1980, and played it during my seventh-grade music class.

I was there for the Run-D.M.C cover of "Walk This Way" and the group's 80s rebirth with "Permanent Vacation" and "Pump". I saw them with friends in 1990 when the Black Crowes opened for them. I saw them again with my wife Kathy; it was the only concert we attended as a couple, as health issues generally made going to shows difficult for her.

I hope Steven's voice is strong enough for the band to perform occasionally. Or perhaps, without being on the road, the band has one more iconic album in them. I mean material that can go toe-to-toe with their early classics and the 80s records that signified they were back.

I leave you with these final words from Aerosmith's announcement.

A final thank you to you - the best fans on planet Earth.  Play our music loud, now and always.  Dream On. You’ve made our dreams come true.

To Steven, Joe, Tom, Brad, and Joey, thank you for the music and for bringing happiness to the world through your art. You bet I'll play your music loud, now and forever.  Thanks again, fellas! Rock on. Aerosmith forever!