Lynyrd Skynyrd have postponed two shows to allow ailing guitarist Gary Rossington time to recover from recent heart surgery.

The concerts, originally scheduled for Aug. 16 in Las Vegas and Aug. 17 in Wheatland, Calif., will now take place on Oct. 18 and 19, respectively.

The postponement comes after the guitarist underwent a procedure to repair a leaky heart valve on July 31. He is expected to make a full recovery.

“We all appreciate the well wishes for Gary and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant said in a statement. “But he can’t wait to come back and perform at 100 percent for the fans. We will see you all soon!”

Rossington, the band’s last remaining original member, has suffered from health issues for several years. In 2003, he underwent quintuple bypass surgery due to coronary artery disease; in 2015, he had a heart attack that resulted in hospitalization. Less than a year later, Lynyrd Skynyrd canceled some tour dates after the guitarist underwent another heart surgery.

In a 2018 interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Rossington admitted he had “heart attacks onstage a lot.” His condition contributed to the band’s announcement of the Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour, a trek scheduled to run through the fall.

"That's why I was calling it a farewell tour: I don't know if I'll be here," Rossington admitted at the time of the tour’s announcement. "I don't want to just say, 'Well, we're never going to end,' because I don't want to die and then it end that way – which is a heavy thing to talk about, but I have to."

 

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