Lauryn Hill and The Fugees have left UK fans feeling anxious about their upcoming concerts after cancelling their US tour days before it was due to begin.
The dates have been quietly taken down from Live Nation and Ticketmaster, with fans sharing their emails to apply for refunds from their original points of purchase.
The emails read: “Unfortunately, the Event Organiser has had to cancel your event."
Billed as the Miseducation anniversary tour, the shows were supposed to feature Hill and her Fugees bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel.
The set list had been due to include songs from The Fugees’ hit 1996 album The Source, and Hill’s Grammy-winning solo debut, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
The US jaunt had been due to kick off on Friday in Tampa, Florida, and conclude on September 21.
A European and UK leg is due to commence in Manchester on October 12 and wrap in Amsterdam on October 22, but it has yet to be seen whether they will be shelved as well.
The Ready Or Not hit-makers have yet to comment on the reason behind the sudden axing or provide reassurance around future dates, however when contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Live Nation told the Standard “the shows in the UK and Europe are going ahead”.
The Fugees reunited in 2021, 15 years since their last performance, but played just one concert before cancelling the tour for what they called pandemic-related difficulties.
They set out again in 2023 only to cancel their shows for a second time, which Hill said was due to her suffering “serious vocal strain”.
Writing about her medical issues on Instagram at the time, Hill said she had been "making it through" each gig by taking a prescribed medication to help her voice, but claimed it was "detrimental to the body when taken in large amounts over long periods of time."
As a result, Hill was forced to "take time off to allow for real vocal recovery."
Her lengthy post on the social media platform read: "I’d like to start this off by saying how much I’ve enjoyed being on the road, and how much I appreciate all of the fans who have come out to celebrate this incredible milestone anniversary and history making reunion with us. Being able to tour this album to sold out crowds after 25 years has been an emotional experience! I’ve loved sharing the stage again with Wyclef and Pras. The Return of the Fugees has been powerful and amazing - those who’ve witnessed it can testify. The tour itself reminds us the artists, and the audiences alike of earlier, perhaps less complicated times when ‘It could all be so simple…’ or ‘Ready Or Not, here I come!’ were on repeat on the airwaves. Simply put, classic. Classic music, classic performances with audiences who love those classics has been nothing but…wait for it ... EPIC. (I almost said classic again!)
"As many of you may know, I’ve been battling serious vocal strain for the past month. I made it through each show by taking prescribed prednisone, but this can be detrimental to the body when taken in large amounts over long periods of time. In order to prevent any long term negative affect on my voice and my body, I need to take time off to allow for real vocal recovery so that I can discontinue the medication completely.
“I made it through each show by taking prescribed prednisone, but this can be detrimental to the body when taken in large amounts over long periods of time,” she said in a statement last year.
