Rock singer Joan Jett has cancelled her upcoming September concert dates after undergoing orthopedic surgery for a fractured vertebrae following a recent injury.
The 67-year-old musician, known for hits such as I Love Rock 'n' Roll, was scheduled to perform shows in September, but a statement released to her Instagram stories on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the concerts. Following her doctors' recommendations, Jett will not be able to perform at her forthcoming September scheduled shows in Costa Mesa, California on September 5th and in Louisville, Kentucky on September 24th.
While further details of the injury she suffered were not revealed, Jett still has plans to return to the stage after recovering. "While Joan hates to disappoint fans, she will be taking this time to focus on physical therapy and healing," the statement read, adding that "she's looking forward to delivering tremendous concerts for many years to come." Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Jett for comment, but has yet to hear back.
Jett has been keeping busy in recent months by performing shows across the globe. Last month in July, the singer and her band the Blackhearts took to the stage in London and also belted out hits at the Tons of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway in June. Back in May, she performed for fans during the BottleRock Festival which took place in Napa, California.
During a conversation with USA Today last year, Jett revealed that she also underwent an operation on her shoulder while talking about her decades-long career and how she stays fit. "I try to walk every day and I do some weights," she explained. "I had a shoulder operation so it's important to keep my muscle strength up and I do a lot of core work."
"And you know, traveling, walking through airports and venues, that's my exercise," Jett added. "But the traveling, that's the one part of my job that I don't love. It's all wear and tear on your body."
Early career with The Runaways
Jett, who is also known as the Godmother of Punk, stepped into the music industry as one of the original founding members of the band The Runaways at age 16. Other members of the all-female group included drummer Sandy West, Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox and Lita Ford. Micki Steele, who later joined the Bangles, was also briefly a member of the band until her exit.
The Runaways performed and recorded music from 1975 through 1979, releasing songs such as Cherry Bomb and Queens Of Noise. "The Runaways was so special to me and meant so much, beyond just girls playing rock 'n' roll," Jett said during a past conversation with Interview Magazine. "I think it represented a lot to me about following your dreams, about not being dictated to about what your life is going to be."
She continued, "Girls see these defined roles they're supposed to follow in life, but when I was a young child, my parents told me I could be anything. Before I settled on music, I wanted to be an archaeologist, an astronaut, all sorts of really diverse things."
Solo success and Blackheart Records
After the group disbanded, Jett made her way back to Los Angeles before pursuing a solo career. After unsuccessfully getting a label to work with her debut studio album, both she and producer Kenny Laguna launched their own label called Blackheart Records.
The singer then formed the band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and dropped the 1981 album I Love Rock 'n Roll. One of the tracks included the cover of Arrows' I Love Rock 'n' Roll which jumped to the top of charts and landed number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The band's other tracks included Bad Reputation, Light Of Day and I Hate Myself For Loving You.
Rock Hall of Fame induction
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were notably inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr of The Beatles had been in attendance at the ceremony at the time.
"And it was interesting, because one of the first records I bought as a kid was Paul McCartney's album that had Maybe I'm Amazed on it [his 1970 debut, McCartney]," she said on the Music Makes Us podcast. "And so... it just kind of ties things up, because when I went out on stage to give my speech, the first people to stand up in the front row were Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and started a standing ovation."
"And I thought, 'Wow, that's really a full-circle kind of moment,'" Jett further reflected. Most recently, Jett and the Blackhearts released an EP titled Mindsets back in June 2023.
