Gin Blossoms had every intention of celebrating 30 Miserable Years with an anniversary tour, but a band injury has put it on pause. On the bright side, we have a whole summer tour of Gin Blossoms, Barenaked Ladies and Toad the Wet Sprocket to look forward to.
The band posted on their social media: “To our friends and fans. The NME 30th Anniversary Tour has been immensely successful and fun, but our bass player Bill Leen has had an accident and broken his arm. He will be unable to perform for a few months. We considered converting to an acoustic format, or bringing in a substitute for Bill. But our band has decided out of respect for our fans to reschedule & cancel the remaining tour dates. It doesn’t feel right to do an anniversary tour without our founding bass player. We’ve had a great time and some fabulous shows, and we regret these circumstances. But we care a great deal about presenting the best possible performance for our fans, and protecting the integrity of a celebratory anniversary tour. We’re very excited for our summer tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket and the Barenaked Ladies. Let’s all wish Bill a happy birthday and a speedy recovery. With humility and gratitude, from Gin Blossoms.”
Gin Blossoms released the “New Miserable Experience” album 30 years ago, hence the “miserable” tour. The New Miserable Experience Live: Celebrating 30 Miserable Years included the band performing the multi-platinum album in its entirety plus extras. The album is home to the mega hits “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You,” plus “Allison Road,” “Until I Fall Away,” and “Lost Horizons.”
While the postponement is certainly a bummer, we have the summer tour to look forward to. The band is making up the Last Summer on Earth Tour with Barenaked Ladies and Toad the Wet Sprocket, which was originally planned for 2020. Hmm…. maybe they tempted fate with that tour name!
SoCal residents can catch the tour when it stops at the iconic Greek Theatre on June 10th.
OC Music News wishes Bill Leen a quick recovery and hereby requests the band members be wrapped in bubble wrap until this summer.
