Melbourne rockers The Smith Street band have confirmed the cancellation of their current US tour and that they are making their way back to Australia following an undisclosed personal incident affecting frontman Will Wagner.

“I’ve had something horrible happen back home and I really need to be with the people I love right now,” writes the frontman on the band’s official Facebook page. “Please understand that there are very few things in this world more important to me and to us than playing music and very few things that playing can’t fix, but this is one of them.”

“Sorry for the vagaries,” he continues, “but out of respect for those involved that’s about as much as I can say. Just know that I wouldn’t be doing this if there was any other way. We already have an extensive US tour booked for March next year and will work on replacing any shows we’ll miss as soon as possible.”

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“Just never forget to tell the people you love that you love them,” Wagner concludes, before signing off. Among the dates set for the band’s Stateside tour was an appearance at Florida punk rock festival The Fest, in addition to a series of tour dates alongside native US outfit Restorations.

The band are slated to kick off an Australian tour later this month in celebration of new album Throw Me In The River. There’s no word yet if the cancellation of the US tour will affect the Australian dates, which include shows in Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, and Perth.

The upsetting news comes at what is otherwise a bright time for the band. Throw Me In The River was recently announced as Triple J’s next Feature Album and according to midweek sales figures, the album is on a path towards a top 20 ARIA chart debut.

Post by The Smith Street Band.

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