Faith No More + Mr. Bungle Cancel Tour Dates, Mike Patton to Focus on His Mental Health
Faith No More and Mr. Bungle have canceled a number of 2021 U.S. tour dates. The cancelations are due to mental health reasons, with Mike Patton explaining he is suffering from “issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic.”
Faith No More and Mr. Bungle were both scheduled to play this year’s Riot Fest around Faith No More’s September and October tour dates. Mr. Bungle were also meant to play an intimate Chicago gig after Riot Fest, but that gig has also been canceled.
“Sorry to report that due to mental health reasons, I cannot continue with the currently scheduled Faith No More and Mr. Bungle dates,” Patton explains. “I have issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic that are challenging me right now. I don’t feel I can give what I should at this point and I am not going to give anything less than 100 percent. I am sorry to our fans and hope to make it up to you soon. The bands’ support me in this decision and we look forward to working through this in a healthy way."
Faith No More also issued a statement on the canceled shows:
To say that we feel shattered by these cancellations would be a complete understatement. It has been a real challenge to return to this music after a 5 year absence, but we have been working hard for a few months now, and these last few rehearsals left no doubt that we were back to top form, which makes this statement very difficult to write.
Coming on almost two years of pandemic and lack of work, it has been heartbreaking to give our crew the news. We consider our crew like family. And then, equally importantly, we are aware of what this means to our fans, who have been patiently supporting us– hoping, as we have, for a break in this frustrating situation. Many folks have taken isolation quite hard, and patiently waited as shows have been postponed time and time again. This will be tough for them.
And yet in spite of all this, we have a family member who needs help. We believe that forging ahead with these dates would have had a profoundly destructive effect on Mike, whose value to us as a brother means more to us than his job as singer. He can count on our 100% support to do what he needs to do to get things right. Just as we also ask for your support right now.
Thank you for continuing to believe in us.
– Bill, Jon, Mike B. & Roddy
The canceled tour dates include:
Faith No More:
Sept. 16 – Maryland Heights, Mo. @ Saint Louis Music Park
Sept. 18 – Chicago, Ill. @ Riot Fest
Sept. 21 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Stage AE
Sept. 22 – Newport, Ky. @ Ovation Pavilion
Sept. 24 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Grinders
Sept. 25 – Indianola, Iowa @ Knotfest
Oct. 10 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock Festival
Oct. 15 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ T-Mobile Arena
Oct. 16 – Fresno, Calif. @ Save Mart Center
Oct. 18 – Oakland, Calif. @ Oakland Arena
Oct. 22 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Banc of California Stadium
Oct. 23 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Banc of California Stadium
Mr. Bungle:
Sept. 17 Chicago, Ill. @ Radius
Sept. 19 Chicago, Ill. @ Riot Fest
“If I could sing through a fuckin’ mask, I’d wear one the rest of my life,” Patton told Loudwire in 2020. “Being present, being in the moment, is hard. Based on a few things that have gone on in my life, it’s made it easier to do that. One of which is the pandemic. Wait a second, do I want to numb out? Do I want to be drunk during all of this? This is history, man! We’ve never seen anything like this and hopefully we never will again, but I wanna be here for this, I wanna experience it. As much as it sucks, living it is the most important thing. I think about that all the time.”
We’d like to commend Mike Patton for focusing on his mental health during this trying time. Stay tuned for updates on Faith No More and Mr. Bungle’s touring plans.