One might begin to wonder why anyone ever buys a ticket to a Morrissey concert. The icon cancels (or postpones and then cancels) so much that when he does actually perform, it's almost a shock. One has to hold their breath until the last minute in hopes the singer will actually show up.
2026 should be a special year for the former Smiths frontman, if he allows that to unfold. At the end of 2025, he seemingly posted that he had at last signed with a new record label, this time with Sire, which released the Smiths albums as well as bands like Depeche Mode. Morrissey even has one album ready to go.
When it will be released is anyone's guess, and as with all things Moz, the future can be unclear. After his happy news, he could have at least hinted at when his untitled record will be released, and performed at his already scheduled shows.
Morrissey begins 2026 by letting fans down again
But what does he do? He postpones or cancels his first two appearances of the new year. He was set to perform in Rancho Mirage, California, on Saturday, January 3, but was show was postponed, according to his official website, "due to an adverse reaction to a prescription medication.”
This came after canceling his entire run of South American shows in November due to "extreme exhaustion." With Morrissey, if it isn't one thing, it's another. He's tired or sick or both.
Fans might start asking themselves, if they haven't already, why one of the most influential and divisive singers of alternative music hates them? Why tempt us with new music and new concerts only to let us down in the end?
After so many decades of behaving the same way, fans have likely left him in droves. Record companies certainly did. He is far too mercurial to be counted on to entertain us, and that is the exact job he chose for himself when he began his music career. He wrote words that spoke to many, but he appears to be straining to leave the many devotees he still has behind.
Fans spend good money on concert tickets only to have him cancel many times. His new songs might be great, but we might never hear them. The next time that Morrissey wants us to spend money on him, we might as well just say, "You just haven't earned it yet, baby."