Aerosmith fans are in mourning after the iconic rock band announced its touring days were over due to singer Steve Tyler’s ongoing vocal problems.
Tyler, 76, fractured his larynx during the band’s Peace Out: The Farewell Tour in 2023 and hasn’t been able to make a full recovery.
Best known for songs including Walk This Way (with Run DMC), Dream On and I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, the band announced its retirement from the stage on August 2.
“Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible,” Aerosmith said in a statement posted on Instagram.
“We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision – as a band of brothers – to retire from the touring stage.”
Tyler damaged his vocal cords during a September 2023 live performance. According to the singer, the injury was so bad that it caused bleeding.
“I’m heartbroken to say I have received strict doctor’s orders not to sing for the next 30 days,” Tyler wrote after the injury.
“I sustained vocal cord damage during Saturday’s show that led to subsequent bleeding. We’ll need to postpone a few dates so that we can come back and give you the performance you deserve.”
But the injury turned out to be much more serious than initially thought.
Here’s all we know about why Aerosmith has retired from touring – and how its charismatic front man Steven Tyler is doing.
Has Aerosmith stopped touring?
Yes. In a social media post, the American rock band announced they were retiring from live performance.
After Steven Tyler’s vocal injury in September 2023, the band cancelled some dates on their Peace Out: The Farewell Tour to give him time to recover.
But progress was slow and it became clear that Tyler’s voice would not go back to how it sounded before the injury.
Aerosmith played three dates of the resumed tour, due to finish in February 2025, before making the announcement on August 2, 2024, that all remaining dates had been cancelled.
The band, founded in 1970, thanked their so-called “Blue Army” of fans for their support over 50 years of touring and releasing albums.
“It has been the honour of our lives to have our music become a part of yours,” they stated.
“In every club, in every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.”
Why is Aerosmith retiring from touring?
Singer Steven Tyler has not been able to regain full use of his voice after damaging his vocal cords and fracturing his larynx in 2023, and the band did not want to replace him with another singer.
“We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing,” the band stated on its website.
“As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side.
“Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.”
How is Steven Tyler’s health now?
Tyler, who has 2.5 million followers on Instagram, has not released an individual statement about his retirement from touring. His most recent post dates from February 2024, showing him watching the Super Bowl half-time entertainment on TV.
Poignantly, his previous post was a photo from the studio, with the caption: “Throat’s on the mend, but my ears still work! So in the meantime, it’s studio time.”
Fans have flocked to these posts after learning the news that he would no longer be performing live.
“Time to rest for one of the greatest voices the world has seen … Thank you for everything, Mr Tyler,” one fan wrote.
“Thank you guys for the music and the memories,” wrote another.
“Aerosmith was my first concert in 1993. I was 13. My mom wanted to make sure I saw you guys because she was so worried you would retire at any time and being her fave band, she wanted to make sure I experienced a show. I’ve been to a dozen since, and loved each one.”
Apart from his vocal injury, Tyler – whose daughter is the actress Liv Tyler – has had a long and troubled health history.
He ruptured a blood vessel in his throat in 2006 but was performing again on stage later that year.
He has also had a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction and became notorious for his lifestyle of rock star excess.
“There was a moment in 1988 where management and the band pulled an intervention on me,” he recalled in a 2019 interview.
“They thought, ‘get the lead singer sober, and all our problems would be over.’ I am grateful and owe a thanks to them for my sobriety.”
How have celebrity fans reacted to Aerosmith’s retirement?
Queen guitarist and Aerosmith fan Sir Brian May said the news had prompted tears.
“This has brought a tear to my eye,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Aerosmith have been a huge part of my life, as they have been for millions of other rock fans. Steve Tyler stands as one of the greatest rock vocalists and frontman of all time and it’s heartbreaking that his extraordinary voice has been so damaged.
“All things must pass, but the inspiring work of Aerosmith will live on – along with the memories of truly one of the most awesome bands to ever hit a stage.”
Fellow rockers The Black Crowes took to X to express their sadness at the news.
“We are shocked and saddened by this news,” they wrote. “Nothing but much love and respect to our friends in Aerosmith. Heartfelt thanks for all of the incredible (memories).”
Friend and former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar said the band’s retirement was a “terrible” loss for rock and roll.
“God bless them. It’s a horrible thing,” he told fans at a gig in Detroit after the news broke.
“What a terrible loss. We all grew up with these guys. You grew up with them, we grew up with them. My hat goes off to one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time, Mr Steven Tyler, for saying ‘I can’t sing anymore; I quit.’ That’s honourable.”
