Beastie Boys Cancel Tour Dates

Monday morning it was announced that New York’s most famous rap trio, the Beastie Boys, would be forced to cancel their cross country tour, which included two stops at the Santa Barbara Bowl on September 19 and 20, due to illness. Last week, founding Beastie Adam “MCA” Yaunch revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer in the form of a small tumor found in the singer’s left parotid, or salivary gland. Sources emphasize that the tumor was caught early and is currently being considered very treatable. Still, surgery, treatment, and necessary recovery time will prohibit the band from carrying on with their string of tour dates. The diagnosis will also push back the Beastie’s latest recorded effort, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, which was scheduled for a September 15 release.

In a message posted on the band’s website, beastieboys.com, Yaunch states, “I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we’ll release the record and play some shows. It’s a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because I was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later.”

Tickets for the band’s two S.B. dates had not yet been released to the public at the time of the tour cancellation.