"Don't worry, it's not the worst. It's not what you think": Nancy Wilson reassures fans concerned about Ann Wilson's onstage wheelchair

Heart publicity shot — (Image credit: Criss Cain)

Last month Heart resumed the Royal Flush Tour they had to postpone last year due to singer Ann Wilson's treatment for cancer. But her appearances on stage in a wheelchair have caught fans off guard – hence the explanation the band are making before each of their shows.

"She broke her elbow before we started," sister and guitarist Nancy Wilson tells Classic Rock. "It was confusing at first; it was not the result of the cancer. She kicked that cancer's ass. Then she broke her arm and is now in a wheelchair, so we had to make sure there was a little disclaimer at the beginning of each show – 'Don't worry, it's not the worst. It's not what you think.'

"It's lovely to be back at the rock job, though, at the loud office as I like to call it, and seeing Ann killing it every night, even though she has to be in the chair right now."

The younger Wilson says the injury occurred during tour rehearsals in Nashville, where Ann and most of the members of Heart's touring band Tripsitter reside. "She was just leaving rehearsal to get into her car and go back to her house. I wasn't there but she slipped on the ice. It maybe could have been worse, but we're still being careful that there's no further injury to make us postpone more shows, you know?"

On her After Dinner Thinks With Ann Wilson podcast the singer noted that, "It’s not about cancer, it's about me being a klutz." She broke her elbow "in three places" and required screws to put it back together. "The pain level is still way too much to take it out of a sling," she explained, "so I chose to sit because then I can just concentrate on singing and not keeping my balance and having somebody out there catching me when I reel to the side... I'll be up and out of it after a while."

Heart's Royal Flush Tour – the group's first in five years – began last April and was to have included a European leg and stadium dates with Def Leppard and Journey during the summer. Ann Wilson performed seated during portions of those concerts as well.

The tour was halted after the initial North American run due to Ann's need for a "time-sensitive but routine medical procedure"; that was revealed in July as a cancerous growth that had to be removed and treated with chemotherapy.

"The operation was successful and I'm feeling great, but my doctors are now advising me to undergo a course of preventive chemotherapy and I've decided to do it," Wilson said in a statement, adding that the doctors were recommending she take the rest of the year off from the stage.

In September, she updated that, "I'm doing absolutely fine now, but it's been, to put it mildly, a lot. Chemo is no joke... The worst is over and I'm thankful for the efficacy of this poison – but it's more than welcome to get the fuck out of my body now." Wilson also revealed that he would be doing "some maintenance (treatments) going forward."

Heart hit the road once again on February 28 in Las Vegas and have North American dates booked into August. A new European run has not yet been announced. Full dates below.

Nancy Wilson, meanwhile, is optimistic about making some new Heart music in the near term, too, to follow up 2016's Beautiful Broken.

"I've been trying to push for a new Heart album, like an acoustic Heart album for a while," she notes. "Ann's written a few new songs with her guys, Tripsitter. I've been writing some things with Sue Ennis, our Heart collaborator of many years. But when you're on the road that's about all you can get done. That's a big enough job without trying to put anything [else] on to it. So let's get done with this [tour] and then we can start to talk about new Heart music."

Heart: Royal Flush Tour 2025

Mar 28: Knoxville Food City Center, TN
Mar 29: Charleston Coliseum, WV
Mar 31: Buffalo KeyBank Center, NY
Apr 02: Montreal Bell Centre, QC
Apr 04: Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre, ON
Apr 05: Quebec Videotron Centre, ON
Apr 10: Toronto Coca-Cola Coliseum, ON
Apr 12: Mashantucket Foxwoods Resort Casino, CT
Apr 13: Boston Agganis Arena, MA
Apr 16: New York Radio City Music Hall, NY
May 31: Atlantic City Hard Rock - Mark G Etess Arena, NJ
Jun 01: Vienna Wolf Trap, VA
Jun 03: Lexington Rupp Arena, KY
Jun 04: Detroit Fox Theatre, MI
Jun 06: Highland Park Ravinia Festival, IL
Jun 07: Hinckley Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater, MN
Jun 10: Evansville Ford Center, IN
Jun 12: St Louis The Fabulous Fox, MO
Jun 14: Grand Prairie Texas Trust CU Theatre, TX
Jun 15: Cedar Park H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, TX
Jun 17: Sugar Land Smart Financial Centre, TX
Jun 18: Baton Rouge Raising Cane's River Center, LA
Jun 20: Birmingham Legacy Arena at the BJCC, AL
Jun 22: North Charleston Coliseum, SC
Jun 24: Jacksonville VuStar Veterans Memorial Arena, FL
Jun 25: Estero Hertz Arena, FL
Jun 27: Orlando Kia Center, FL
Jun 28: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL
Aug 27: Allentown The Great Allentown Fair, PA

Tickets are on sale now.

Artists

Gary Graff is an award-winning veteran music journalist based in metro Detroit, writing regularly for Billboard, Ultimate Classic Rock, Media News Group, Music Connection, United Stations Radio Networks and others. Graff’s work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Classic Rock, Revolver, the San Francisco Chronicle, AARP magazine, the Detroit Jewish News, The Forward and others. Graff has co-written and edited books about Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. A professional voter for the Grammy Awards and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Graff co-founded the Detroit Music Awards in 1989 and continues as the organisation’s chief producer.