What happened to Paul Simon? Singer reportedly cancels Philadelphia concerts over chronic condition

On June 28, 2025, American singer and songwriter Paul Simon cancelled two of his shows at Philadelphia's Academy of Music scheduled for June 28 and 29, 2025. The same was announced via the singer's Instagram account, citing he is suffering from "chronic and intense back pain."

The statement read:

“Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain. Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention."

The statement mentioned that the shows were cancelled since the singer and his team couldn't reschedule them. It also stated that Paul's team is hopeful that a minor surgical procedure scheduled in the next few days will allow the singer to complete his tour and make up for the cancelled shows.

Paul Simon announced his A Quiet Celebration tour in February 2025, wherein the singer has been performing his 2023 LP Seven Psalms and some of the classic tracks of his catalog.

The tour kicked off on April 4, 2025, and marked his first tour in seven years since 2018. Additionally, the singer's June 16, 2025, show at Beacon Theatre in New York City was Paul's first full concert in the region since 2018.

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More details about Paul Simon's health condition explored

Paul Simon has been vocal about his health condition, and the recent instance of chronic back pain is one of the multiple times that the singer has revealed his ailment.

In May 2023, the I Am A Rock singer disclosed that he had suffered a near-total hearing loss in one ear, which was one of the reasons that he wasn't touring at the time. The singer mentioned that his hearing loss took place when he was recording Seven Psalms.

As per The Independent's September 2023 report, the singer had mentioned that doctors weren't able to diagnose the cause of his condition. Additionally, during his appearance at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Paul gave an update on his hearing condition, stating:

“I haven’t accepted it entirely, but I’m beginning to. I play the guitar every day. It’s the instrument that allows me to express myself creatively. But it’s also where I go for solace. If I’m feeling ... ‘whatever’. So it’s a very crucial thing to me. Something happens to you when you have some sort of disability that changes your awareness or changes how you interact with life.”

A year later, in October 2024, Paul Simon talked to The Guardian about his career in the industry and dealing with his hearing loss. Dubbing it "scary, frustrating", the singer said that he had made his peace with it.

"I started to think that this was some new information that I needed to absorb into the piece. I started to focus on sounds, not from computers or synthesisers, but acoustic instruments used in unusual ways,” Paul stated

Additionally, multiple publications like The Mirror and The Express highlighted one of Paul's statements from his September 2023 interview with The Times, wherein he addressed his hearing loss. At the time, the singer had said:

"It's just the age we're at. Gordon Lightfoot just passed away; Jeff Beck too. My generation's time is up."

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Paul Simon garnered popularity with Art Garfunkel as the folk duo 'Simon and Garfunkel' in the 1960s. While the duo split in 1970, they reunited on several occasions, and Simon thrived via his solo career.

Edited by Riya Peter