Go-Go's Cancel Farewell Tour After Jane Wiedlin Suffers Injury

The Go-Go's farewell "Happily Ever After" tour isn't happening, and it's not a happy situation. The band is canceling what was to be its final series of live shows after guitarist Jane Wiedlin suffered a fall while hiking and injured both knees, requiring surgery.

Rock n' Load, the band's PR firm, send out a press release today that says in part:
"It is with great regret that the Go-Go’s announce today the cancelation of Happily Ever After, their summer farewell tour. The tour was scheduled to kick off July 7 at Lilith Fair San Diego, and conclude in Austin, TX on July 27. The band will also be unable to perform live on Good Morning America, scheduled for July 16 in New York’s Central Park.

The news comes as a result of guitarist Jane Wiedlin injuring herself after a 20-foot fall while hiking near her home in Northern California a couple of weeks ago. Jane is scheduled for ACL replacement surgery for her knee in the coming weeks, with a prognosis of up to a year recovery time...."

The release goes on to say that refunds are available at point of purchase.

While Go-Go's fans (including me) are no doubt bummed out about the tour being cancelled, it's definitely the right call: doing a farewell tour with a replacement for Wiedlin just wouldn't do. Get well soon, Jane!

The Go-Go's Announce Farewell Tour - Dates

Above: Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock (drums), and Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's performing in Antone's in Austin, Texas in 2008. The Go-Go's embark on what they are calling their farewell tour this summer. Photo: Flickr user Ron Baker (Kingsnake).

Legendary all-female rockers the Go-Go's recently announced that this summer they'll be embarking on  "Happily Ever After - The Farewell Tour." Always one of my favorites, the Go-Go's formed in L.A. in the late 1970s, breaking new ground with their 1981 double-platinum album "Beauty and the Beat," which became the first album by an all-female band that wrote and performed its own songs to hit the top of the Billboard charts. (Go-Go's farewell tour press release.)

This isn't the first time the Go-Go's have reunited for a tour; I was lucky to see them in Central Park a number of years ago, when they were promoting their last new studio album, "God Bless the Go-Go's." The band also did a 25th anniversary tour of "Beauty and the Beat" in which they performed the entire album in sequence.

The Go-Go's farewell tour features the classic lineup of Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, and Gina Schock. Go-Go's tickets are on sale now.

The Go-Go's farewell tour dates:
July 7 San Diego, CA - Lilith Fair
July 8 Phoenix, AZ - Lilith Fair
July 10 Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Rays
July 11 Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
July 14 Portsmouth, VA - nTelos Pavilion
July 15 Morristown, NJ - Mayo Center for the Arts
July 16 New York, NY - Good Morning America
July 17 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
July 19 Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
July 20 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
July 22 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
July 24 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
July 26 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
July 27 Austin, TX - Paramount Theater 

If you want to keep up with the Go-Go's on Twitter, you can follow the band's account (@officialgogos) or members Belinda Carlisle (@belindaofficial), Jane Wiedlin (@janewiedlin), and Kathy Valentine (@kathy_valentine).