"I can't do this": Watch Chad Kroeger halt Nickelback show due to "absolutely destroyed throat"

(Image credit: Manny Tovar)

Footage has emerged of Nickelback's Chad Kroeger calling a halt to proceedings just four songs into the band's set at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, MO, last Thursday.

"I can't do this," a forlorn Kroeger told the crowd. "I cannot sit here with a fucking absolutely destroyed throat and try to make it through this show and pretend like there's nothing fucking wrong and take your fucking money, 'cause that is wrong.

"I'm having a hard time hitting fucking notes. The doctor just jabbed me in the hip with some prednisone [a corticosteroid used to treat a variety of conditions], and we all crossed our fingers backstage hoping this was gonna work. But I cannot, in good conscience, stand up here and sing these fucking songs and have my voice crack and everything sound like shit. It's driving me fucking nuts.

"So, I'll tell you what. I could give it my best. I could keep just trying and we could just pull the fuck around if you want to."

Guitarist Ryan Peake offered to pick up the reins for the rest of the show, but Kroeger refused to be defeated and carried on, with the band restarting Animals and going on to complete a 15-song set, with only Burn It To The Ground dropped from the setlist.

"Fuck it," Kroeger told the crowd, before resuming. "Let's start this one over again. I'm just gonna give it all I've got."

The North American leg of Nickelback's Get Rollin' tour kicked off on June 12 in Quebec, and is scheduled to finish on October 5 at the Fargodome in Fargo, ND. The next show in this evening (August 7) at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Full dates below.

Last week, a trailer was released for the upcoming documentary Hate to Love: Nickelback, which tells the band's story and examines why they've been subjected to so much vitriol over the course of their career.

Nickeback Get Rollin' Tour 2023

Aug 07: St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN
Aug 09: Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center, OH
Aug 11: Oro-Medonte Boots and Hearts Festival, ON
Aug 13: Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theater, MI
Aug 16: Darien Center Darien Lake Amphitheater, NY
Aug 18: Tinley Park Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, IL
Aug 19: Noblesville Ruoff Music Center, IN
Aug 22: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Aug 24: Bangor Maine Savings Amphitheater, ME
Aug 26: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA
Aug 27: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA
Aug 29: Camden Freedom Mortgage Pavillion, NJ
Aug 30: Belmont Park UBS Arena, NY
Aug 31: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center: NJ
Sep 02: Virginia Beach Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater: VA
Sep 12 Charlotte: PNC Music Pavilion, NC
Sep 14: Raleigh Coastal Credit Union Music Park At Walnut Creek, NC
Sep 16: Pelham Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, AL
Sep 17: Southaven BankPlus Amphitheater At Snowden Grove, MS
Sep 19: Kansas City T-Mobile Center, MO
Sep 21: Tulsa BOK Center, OK
Sep 23: Austin Moody Center, TX
Sep 25: North Little Rock Verizon Arena, AR
Sep 27: Knoxville Thompson-Boling Arena, TN
Sep 29: Burgettstown The Pavilion At Star Lake, PA
Sep 30: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
Oct 03: Lincoln Pinnacle Bank Arena, NE
Oct 05: Fargo Fargodome, ND

Tickets are on sale now.

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.