Joan Jett calls off shows while she recovers from surgery

Joan Jett has cancelled tour dates in Costa Mesa, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, scheduled for September, after undergoing orthopaedic surgery on a fractured vertebra. Her team said on Instagram that the decision, made in close consultation with her doctors, gives her time to focus on physical therapy and healing before returning to touring.

The cancellations follow Jett's recent UK tour, her first headline run across the Atlantic in 16 years, where she played six shows with support from UK punk duo The Meffs, including a performance at the new venue British Airways ARC at Kensington Olympia. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts also played a support slot at My Chemical Romance's Wembley Arena show in July, part of an emo-legends run that also drew support sets from Skunk Anansie, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mogwai, Echo & The Bunnymen, Interpol and Idlewild.

The news follows the death of Thommy Price, who drummed with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts from 1987 to 2017. Jett paid tribute on social media, calling him an admired drummer who had been part of the band's family for four decades.

Jett's team said she is looking forward to delivering more concerts for years to come, though no return date for the cancelled shows has been set.

Jett's team described the decision in a statement: "Following a recent injury, Joan Jett has undergone orthopaedic surgery on a fractured vertebrae and will begin the necessary healing process," it read. "While Joan hates to disappoint fans, she will be taking this time to focus on physical therapy and healing." Jett struck a similarly personal note in her tribute to Thommy Price: "We lost a member of the Blackheart family, the one of a kind Thommy Price," she wrote. "He was a drummer's drummer and admired by so many."