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Folk singer Gordon Lightfoot cancels 2023 concert schedule, citing health

TORONTO — Gordon Lightfoot has cancelled all of his upcoming concerts due to health setbacks. Representatives for the 84-year-old said in a statement the folk singer-songwriter is experiencing "some health-related issues," but didn't give specifics.
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Gordon Lightfoot performs during the first concert at the newly re-opened Massey Hall in Toronto, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. Canadian folk icon Lightfoot is cancelling his 2023 concert schedule in Canada and the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO — Gordon Lightfoot has cancelled all of his upcoming concerts due to health setbacks.

Representatives for the 84-year-old said in a statement the folk singer-songwriter is experiencing "some health-related issues," but didn't give specifics.

They asked for his privacy to be respected as he "continues to focus on his recovery," but said that Lightfoot is unable to confirm rescheduled dates.

The musician was set to play more than a dozen shows in Arizona, California and Florida in April, June and September. 

His single Canadian date on the calendar was a rescheduled Kitchener, Ont. concert booked for October. 

Lightfoot has been a steady presence on the touring circuit even in recent years as he faced some health complications.

In the summer of 2021, he postponed a series of tour dates after suffering a fall at his home, which led to surgery. 

Hardly four months later, he returned with a three-night engagement to reopen the renovated Massey Hall in Toronto. 

Within weeks, Lightfoot was back on the road with a run of tour dates that lasted through much of 2022. However, shows that were slated for last December were postponed and those dates are among the concerts that are now cancelled.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2023. 

David Friend, The Canadian Press

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