WATCH: Evan Felker Performs Live for Just the Second Time This Year
Hard to believe it's been two and a half years. It was in the spring of 2019 that Turnpike Troubadours announced they would be going on an indefinite hiatus.
But from missed shows, to last minute cancellations, and one scary on stage performance -- that should have no doubt been cancelled -- front man Evan Felker's struggles had been well documented.
<strong>Turnpike Troubadours will go on an indefinite hiatus</strong> until a time we feel that everyone is of strong mind, body and spirit and c<span class="text_exposed_show">an deliver what our fans deserve.”</span>
Fans had seen this writing on the wall for many months leading up to the announcement, but, man, did we hate to see it actually be made. And not just for us, we were worried about Evan.
On May 31st, the band released an official statement that was as follows:
“We want to again apologize for the abrupt cancellations of our shows this past weekend. We can assure you that the situation was not in our control. We want nothing more than the opportunity for to heal, and to not put all of you though this ever again. To have a chance for any of this, we need to cancel all of our remaining tour dates. Turnpike Troubadours will go on an indefinite hiatus until a time we feel that everyone is of strong mind, body and spirit and can deliver what our fans deserve.”
Aside from that pop up show with The Teague Brothers band in May, and the announcement that he and wife Staci welcomed a baby girl that came soon after, we haven't heard a lot from Evan this year.
So, how great was it to see him singing live last night as part of Rhett Millers virtual benefit for cystic fibrosis? And while it was just one song, there's no denying he looked happy, and sounded fantastic. It looked effortless.
Hopefully this is just a toe back in the water of live performing for Evan, and once he's ready, we can't wait to see him back out on stage doing a full band show.
Also performing last night were Rhett Miller, Pat Green, Cody Canada, Todd Snider, and Prophets and Outlaws, and more. You can still make a donation HERE.