Steve Miller Band says extreme weather is so dangerous it’s canceling
its tour
[July 18, 2025]
By ISABELLA O'MALLEY
Classic rocker Steve Miller has canceled his U.S. tour because he said
severe weather including extreme heat and unpredictable flooding poses a
danger to his band, its fans and crew.
The tour was set to kick off in August and run through early November,
with nearly three dozen stops across the U.S. including cities in New
York, Tennessee, Florida and California.
“The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes,
hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our
audience, the band and the crew unacceptable,” Miller, 81, said in a
statement posted on the band's social media accounts Wednesday. “You can
blame it on the weather. ... The tour is cancelled.”
The Steve Miller Band, formed in California in the 1960s, has hits
including “The Joker” (1973) and “Abracadabra” (1982).
A band spokesperson declined to provide additional details about the
cancellation.
Miller's decision comes as a stretch of extreme weather in the U.S. has
made headlines. A sweltering heat dome that baked much of the eastern
half of the nation in June and deadly flash flooding in Texas are some
of the recent rounds of extreme weather.
Scientists say climate change is fueling extreme weather, causing storms
to unleash more rain and sending temperatures soaring to dangerous
heights, making it harder to plan outdoor summer events. The atmosphere
can hold higher amounts of moisture as it warms, resulting in storms
dumping heavier amounts of rain compared with storms of the past.
“Everyone wants to see their favorite artist, and that’s still possible.
You just have to best mitigate weather risks,” said Jonathan Porter,
chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private weather company. “For
example, the doors may open an hour late in order to ensure
thunderstorms have moved sufficiently away from the venue so the show
can go on safely.”
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Steve Miller performs at 92NY, Oct. 1, 2023, in New York. (Photo by
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
 Music festivals have recently
encountered extreme weather, resulting in cancellations or causing
concertgoers to become ill.
In June, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee was
canceled partway through due to heavy rainfall. Last week, hundreds
of people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the Rock the
Country music festival in Kentucky, according to local officials.
In 2023, tens of thousands of Burning Man event attendees were
stranded after heavy rain created thick mud in the Nevada desert and
roads were temporarily closed.
A study published in 2020 reported climate change will increase the
likelihood of extreme heat stress during the Coachella Valley Music
and Arts Festival in California.
Tropical storms and hurricanes will soon contribute to the turbulent
weather as activity peaks between August and October, according to
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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