In a statement posted to social media on Thursday, Ween canceled its last remaining performance date and confirmed that the band will “step away from the stage for the foreseeable future” due to continued concerns about Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo‘s mental health. The announcement is the latest in a string of cancellations from the alt-rock oddballs in 2024, a year initially intended to be the band’s busiest in recent memory in celebration of its 40th anniversary.
“It is with sincere regret and heavy hearts that Ween must make the decision to step away from the stage for the foreseeable future,” the statement reads. “This includes next month’s sold-out Chocolate and Cheese 25th Anniversary show at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia. Despite three great shows this summer, it’s become clear that touring and performing is too taxing on Deaner’s mental health to continue. As always, we thank you for the love, dedication and ongoing support.”
Ween’s 40th-anniversary tour, initially announced in January and expanded in February, was due to include seven shows in April 2024 and an additional seven in August 2024. In early March, the band announced that it was canceling the April dates but keeping the previously announced August concerts in place.
Ween—comprised of Dean Ween and Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman alongside Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, and Glenn McClelland—briefly returned to the stage in early August for a pair of shows in Missoula, MT and a gig in Spokane, WA. At the second show in Missoula, the band delivered the first-ever live performance of “Makin’ Love in the Gravy” from 1999’s semi-official Craters of the Sac odds-and-ends digital-only album (leaked by Deaner). That week, the band also issued a 30th-anniversary Chocolate and Cheese re-release with 15 additional tracks, including recordings of several songs that had never circulated. The release prompted a 100,000% spike in the cult heroes’ album sales.
On August 6th—four days after returning to the stage in Montana—Ween canceled its remaining four summer dates, cutting the planned 14-date tour short after just three shows and leaving the scheduled Chocolate and Cheese 30th-anniversary celebration at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on September 27th as the only remaining date on the band’s calendar. “Thanks as always for the love and support,” the band wrote in a social media post at the time.
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Aside from the unintended hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ween has performed live relatively regularly since reuniting in 2016 following a four-year breakup. After mounting a full reunion tour in 2016 including two memorable shows at LOCKN’ that summer, post-reunion Ween has instead opted for sporadic weekend runs in the years since, often with two nights in one city and one night in another. The band previously took a nine-month break from performing live between December 2018 and September 2019, when the group performed The Mollusk in full at Riot Fest. This year’s planned outing, the band’s first full-fledged tour since its reunion in 2016, was due to celebrate 40 years of the Boognish.
Get well soon, Deaner. We’ll be here waiting when you’re ready.
The post Ween To “Step Away From The Stage For The Foreseeable Future” Due To Dean Ween’s Mental Health Concerns appeared first on L4LM.
