Acclaimed Dublin folk band Lankum have said they have been forced to cancel their upcoming French tour of due to "personal circumstances".
ANNOUNCEMENT..
— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) January 19, 2024
❤️ pic.twitter.com/N6D94nM2lg
The group, which is made up of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, and Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peaton, won huge praise for their latest album False Lankum and a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in the UK last year and have won four RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.
They have also been nominated for the RTÉ Choice Music Prizes for Artist of the year and the coveted grand prize of Album of the Year.
They won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year for their album The Livelong Day in 2020.
The band have taken a strong stance on the current war between Israel and Hamas and last year their German dates were cancelled by the organisers due to the group's vocal support for Palestine.
At the time, promoters said, "Lankum represents a political stance that we as a venue and festival do not represent."
In a statement posted on Twitter on Friday, the band said, "Over the past year we have cancelled a number of tours and concerts due to ongoing personal circumstances affecting the band.
"These circumstances are not compatible with touring multiple dates and cities and, as a result, for the rest of 2024 we will reluctantly only be available for one off concerts.
"The incredible response to False Lankum has made this an exceptionally hard decision to make the well-being of the band remains steadfastly our primary concern.
Although we were able to complete 2 short tours towards the end of 2023, they just confirmed to us that touring is simply not an option for us currently.
"Unfortunately, this means that we must cancel our upcoming French tour. The Paris and Rennes dates will still go ahead, but we must cancel all dates in between.
"We apologise profusely to all those with tickets. We will be back at some point in the future, but we cannot commit to something more concrete at this time.
"We would like to underline that Lankum will continue to play concerts, and we are not planning any further cancellations this year. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
"x Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie."
However, Lankum will headline the inaugural one-day Dublin festival the Meadows and a show at Primavera Sound in Barcelona.
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