Ritchie Blackmore Reveals Health Reason For Tour Postponement

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Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night of Blackmore’s Night performing in Alexandria, VA on Nov. 9, 2025.

Ritchie Blackmore has revealed why he was forced to abruptly postpone the 2026 fall U.S. tour of his band, Blackmore’s Night. In a Nov. 23 post on his Facebook page, the guitarist explained that he has recently begun suffering from debilitating migraines. When he arrived at his hotel in New Jersey prior to what was expected to be the third concert of the tour, the classic rock legend suffered a severe migraine attack. “The room wouldn’t stop spinning and I was extremely dizzy to the point of not being able to stand,” he wrote. Blackmore was taken by an ambulance to a local hospital. The band’s Nov. 15 concert was postponed at the Newton (NJ) Theatre as was the next one on Nov. 17. The following day, the entire tour was postponed due to “medical reasons.”

In his Nov. 23 post, Blackmore, who turned 80 on April 14, explained, “I have a long history of lumbar and neck herniated discs. Consequently, I would have back injections before a tour to help me over the pain. Recently, I have acquired debilitating migraines. They come and go very quickly. When I see the visual disturbance of these ocular migraines, I know they are coming.

“When we did the long drive from Pennsylvania to Newton, NJ we were booked into a hotel that had a wedding party going all night in the corridors. There was no heat in the room and the sheets were still damp. Which I assume culminated in me having a severe migraine attack. I couldn’t stop vomiting. The room wouldn’t stop spinning and I was extremely dizzy to the point of not being able to stand. Ambulance was called. I was taken to hospital and they gave me CAT scans and other tests.

“The doctors came to the conclusion that my official diagnosis was severe vertigo. The results of this went on for days on end. I am now following up how serious these migraines are with various doctors. When one tours, you have a lot of people who have to be healthy. Unfortunately, I was the one who got hit this time. Hope to see you all one day again when Im healthy. All the best, Ritchie, a guitarist.”

Blackmore’s Night had played just two shows of what was to be a brief, six-concert tour. The band’s name is a combination of the last names of the guitarist and his wife, Candice Night, who is a singer and woodwinds player.

Watch them perform on the brief tour’s opening concert in Alexandria, VA