24-05-2025
Semisonic cancels summer shows, including Yacht Club Fest, as bassist continues recovery
Semisonic is canceling its summer concerts as bassist John Munson continues to recover from a stroke suffered in February of this year.
"As John continues his recovery from the stroke he had in February, we've made the difficult decision to cancel our summer touring plans," the band wrote on social media. "We look forward to playing together before too long, and we thank everyone for their understanding and support."
Among its summer shows was an appearance at the second Minnesota Yacht Club Festival. The group, which also includes Dan Wilson and Jacob Slichter, was scheduled to play the third day of the festival alongside Green Day, Garbage, and Sublime.
While Munson continues to mend, he has performed in public a couple of times in recent weeks, but only as a singer and not as a bassist.
He told the Star Tribune in April that he was still having some troubles with the motor skills needed to play bass.
Representatives for the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival did not respond to a request for comment about whether it plans to replace Semisonic. Festivals generally replace acts that cancel when there's as much advance warning as the festival currently has.
On the other hand, when a band cancels at the last minute, like The Black Crowes canceling the day before the inaugural edition of the fest, that's not possible.
The New Standards, one of Munson's other groups, plan to move forward with the pair of Twin Cities shows it has on the calendar, a representative tells Bring Me The News.
That includes a June 19 Lowertown Sounds concert at Mears Park in St. Paul billed as the New Standards and Friends, which will feature a larger band. At that show, Munson will sing, and Ken Shastain will play bass with the group.
The second show is a Sept. 7 concert on the rooftop of The Hewing Hotel. Details around that performance are still being determined.
