Bon Iver Cancel European Tour For ‘Personal Reasons’: Is Justin Vernon Battling Anxiety Again?

Bon Iver has taken to Twitter to announce the cancellation of their upcoming European tour, which was set to begin in January, due to “personal reasons.” The band’s frontman, Justin Vernon, will also cancel his scheduled performance at Minnesota’s Public Radio program A Prairie Home Companion on January 14.

Bon Iver’s announcement also states that tickets can be refunded immediately and that tour dates won’t be rescheduled until further notice, as previously reported by Spin.

Bon Iver cancels upcoming European tour https://t.co/wjnj1SIW9W pic.twitter.com/DFlT2WZDWO

— billboard (@billboard) January 4, 2017

Bon Iver’s announcement reads as follows.

“For personal reasons, Bon Iver has cancelled its forthcoming European tour set to begin in Paris on 22 January, 2017, and end in London on February 20, 2017 in addition to Justin Vernon’s scheduled appearance on A Prairie Home Companion on 14 January 2017.

“All tickets for the European tour will be refunded at point of purchase and none of the missed tour dates will be rescheduled at this time.

“Our deepest apologies to all our fans. We will be back.”

It's with great regret that we must announce the cancellation of our forthcoming European tour and Justin's appearance on @prairie_home. . . pic.twitter.com/3nvEEA2i3r

— Bon Iver (@boniver) January 4, 2017

It was only announced yesterday that Bon Iver is set to perform at the 2017 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Curiously, the band’s scheduled appearances at Coachella and many other venues are still listed on their official website, though it’s possible that they are yet to do some updates following the cancellation of the U.K. tour dates.

Bon Iver’s European tour was announced on September 12 in support of their recent album, 22, A Million. The album has been receiving positive reviews from critics and fans since its release.

22, A Million has been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album along with Blackstar by David Bowie, The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey, Post Pop Depression by Iggy Pop, and A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead.

Bon Iver won the Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album in 2012. The 59th annual Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on February 12 and will air on CBS.

In light of Bon Iver’s cancellation of their upcoming European tour dates, it bears noting that it was only four years ago when Justin Vernon said that he’s quitting the band for the foreseeable future. In fact, considering the anxieties and other mental issues that have plagued Vernon in the intervening years, it’s a wonder that 22, A Million was even made at all.

“I had mental stuff, stuff I felt needed healing,” he told the Guardian. “And as morose or self-involved as it is, I felt that the only thing I could do was to go into myself a little bit.”

It even came to a point when Vernon almost quit making the album in early 2016, explaining that it was a “grueling process to figure out.” He was often assailed by the feeling that “I had this huge idea and I didn’t have the wherewithal to go through with it.”

Vernon explained that he was so uncomfortable with being in the spotlight that he felt he needed to take a long break.

“Having people asking to get their picture taken when you’re just trying to get eggs and not having a good day,” he said. “There are times when it’s just a nuisance, and there are times when it makes me panic. There are people who are straight-up into being famous. And I don’t like that. I think that’s why I had to take a long break.”

Amid his anxiety struggles, Justin Vernon had once received invaluable advice from none other than Kanye West, who reminded him about the importance of loving and believing in yourself.

“Kanye speaks of how you have to love yourself. And believe in yourself,” says Vernon. “I heard him say something recently: ‘I love myself so other people can love themselves.’ So they get up in the morning and put on a song and be like ‘F**K YEAH’. And that is what it’s for.”

Ironically, Kanye West suffered the same fate as Bon Iver, as the American rapper announced in November that he’s canceling the rest of his “Saint Pablo Tour.”

[Featured Image by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images]