Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has been hospitalized with “major hear condition issues,” forcing the legendary metal band to postpone the remaining dates on its current North American tour.
After postponing their tour last year due to the pandemic, Judas Priest were back on the road celebrating “50 Years of Heavy Metal” with a fall North American outing. Having just played the Louder Than Life fest on Sunday (September 26th), the band announced today (September 27th) that Faulkner needed immediate medical care.
A band statement shared on frontman Rob Halford’s Instagram page reads as follows:
“It is with deep regret that we have to postpone the rest of our US tour. Richie has major medical heart condition issues which have landed him in hospital where he is being treated. In the meantime, we are all sending love to our Falcon for a speedy recovery. As soon as we have any updates from his doctors on when we can reschedule the dates we will of course announce them … [existing] tickets will be valid.”
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Faulkner has been a vital member of Judas Priest since 2011, replacing founding guitarist K.K. Downing. He has helped inject a new energy into Priest, who’ve released the critically acclaimed albums Redeemer of Souls and Firepower since he joined the band.
The North American tour was set to continue through a November 5th show in Hamilton, Ontario, with more than 20 dates still left on the itinerary.
Our thoughts are with Richie Faulkner as we wish him a speedy recovery. See Rob Halford’s Instagram post below.