Blink-182 has postponed the first leg of its highly anticipated reunion tour after drummer Travis Barker broke his finger during rehearsals last month.
Lead singer Tom DeLonge announced Wednesday that the rock band plans to reschedule several shows in Mexico and South America while Barker recovers from his injury. The percussionist underwent surgery on Tuesday after dislocating and torn ligaments in his left ring finger.
“I’m so sorry to everyone in South America that we couldn’t be there,” DeLonge said an Instagram video. “This is something that we’ve been looking for for so long, and we’ve worked so hard, and we just had one of those freak accidents that no one saw coming.
“Travis needs to go in and have surgery on his finger, and we need to get that right. We have to get that strong before we can do anything else.
The singer and guitarist assured fans who bought tickets this month to see Blink-182 in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Mexico that the band would still do so in 2024. The tour was set to start earlier on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico.
“This is just so sad,” DeLonge continued.
“These are some of the most important places in the world for a band. This is like the pinnacle of our career… coming down and playing for you guys. So I really want you all to know that we are devastated and we plan to come back. … I really want you to know, from my heart to yours, how important you are to us.
On February 8, Barker revealed via Twitter that he injured his finger on the job. Him later posted photos of his swollen finger and a video of someone pushing the damaged finger back into place.
“I was playing the drums in rehearsals yesterday and I hit my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments,” tweeted Barker, who returned from a health scare last June.
In October, Barker, DeLonge and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 confirmed that they would be touring together for the first time since DeLonge left the group in 2015. The musicians will play at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16. 17 before traveling to San Diego (June 19-20), San Jose (June 22), and Sacramento (June 23).
“You waited so long… and we waited so long,” DeLonge said Wednesday.
“This is just devastating on so many levels, but we’re going to make Travis better, and we’re going to get down – the three of us together – and we’re going to rock, and we’re going to have an incredible time with you.”
