Caleb Followill: Popular rock band Kings of Leon forced to cancel UK and European tour after singer suffers ‘freak accident’

The Sex on Fire rockers were set to hit the road later this summer for performances in Cardiff and Lancashire, as well as stints in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Belgium and Portugal. However, frontman Caleb Followill shared a video on the band’s official Instagram page, announcing that the gigs had been called off after he broke his foot in a ‘gnarly’ injury, shattering his heel.

Caleb required emergency surgery in Nashville following the injury, which occurred while he was playing with his children. Caleb told fans online: “Hello to everyone out there, especially our European fans that are coming to see us this summer.

“Unfortunately I regret to inform you that those shows will have to be cancelled due to a freak accident that happened the other day. I broke my foot pretty bad just playing with my kids… it’s pretty gnarly and I’ll spare all the details. But we’re fortunate enough to have some great doctors here in Nashville that gave me emergency surgery.”

The singer – who has two children with 38-year-old model Lily Aldridge – was told by doctors to remain off his feet for around two months. He added: “I’m on the mend, but they’ve told me that I can’t be on my feet, travelling, or anything for the next eight weeks or so. That’s a big bummer.

“We were so excited. We’ve been preparing for this tour for a long time, we’ve been preparing for a lot of things. We’ve been in the studio recording, we have a bunch of new songs, we were going to debut a few of them on this run. We had a lot of exciting things planned and now we’re going to have to pivot and find a new way to continue the work that we’ve started.”

Despite the setback, Caleb ended the message with optimism. He said: “I’m very excited for when we do get to show you the stuff we’re doing, and in the meantime we’re going to do whatever work we can while I have these limitations.

“Exciting stuff is coming, I know this isn’t the message anyone wants to hear, and it’s certainly not the message I want to be sending, but it’s going to be alright. Everything is going to be good. Hopefully, we will see y’all soon.” The video concluded with a shot of Caleb’s foot in a cast.

In a separate statement, his bandmates Nathan Followill, 45, Jared Followill, 38, and Matthew Followill, 40, confirmed the cancellation and detailed the injury. They said: “Kings of Leon are updating fans that Caleb Followill has recently sustained a serious injury, shattering his heel and requiring a significant emergency surgery, that will prevent him from travelling and performing.

“The anticipated recovery process is expected to take eight weeks, under strict guidance of expert orthopaedic specialists. The band regrets to report that they will need to cancel all upcoming UK and European festival headline shows in June and July of this year.”

Kings of Leon had been scheduled to headline Lytham Festival in Lancashire alongside Justin Timberlake and Alanis Morissette. Organisers have since confirmed the event will be shortened from five days to four due to the cancellation, stating it is too late to book a replacement act. They also wished Caleb a “speedy recovery”.