“There is no greater thrill for us than playing for our incredibly devoted audience, but their safety must come first.... Posted by Journey on Monday, May 4, 2020
JOURNEY has canceled its previously announced 2020 North American tour due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe. The 60-date trek with THE PRETENDERS was supposed to kick off May 15 in Ridgefield, Washington.
After carefully reviewing all options, the decision has been made to cancel the entire tour to make it possible for JOURNEY's legion of hardworking fans to immediately obtain access to refund options during these unforeseen and extremely challenging times.
JOURNEY's founding member and guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain and vocalist Arnel Pineda issued the following joint statement today: "There is no greater thrill for us than playing for our incredibly devoted audience, but their safety must come first.
"Having seen what the world has endured during the last 45 days, and not knowing what the rest of this year or 2021 will bring, we knew the right thing to do was to make sure our fans' health was not put in jeopardy and to provide immediate access to refund options given the unexpected events caused by this terrible virus.
"We would like to thank all doctors, nurses, police, other first responders and essential workers for their heroic efforts; as well as our fans for doing everything possible to stay safe. We would also like to send THE PRETENDERS our best wishes and hope to see them in the future.
"We will see everyone again as soon as it is safe to tour, and we will share that news as it becomes available. In the meantime, please Don't Stop Believin' in the wonder of life and in each other."
JOURNEY's tour partners at Live Nation will ensure ticket holders will be e-mailed directly with their refund options including a full refund, or you can request a 150% credit, and Live Nation will donate the number of tickets you originally purchased to healthcare workers on the frontlines.
For more details, visit livenation.com/refund.
On March 3, Schon and Cain filed a lawsuit against bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, who have been members of JOURNEY on and off since the band formed in 1973, claiming the two attempted a "coup" in order to gain control of the JOURNEY trademark. The suit, which seeks more than $10 million in damages, accuses Smith and Valory of holding an "improper" shareholder and board of directors meetings in February during which they ousted Cain and Schon from leadership posts at Nightmare Productions under the "incorrect" assumption that the company held the rights to the JOURNEY name.
