Love and Theft Singer Sidelined by Illness

Love and Theft -- Eric Gunderson, Stephen Barker Liles and Brian Bandas -- are being forced to take some time off the road, doctor's orders.

"We're sad to report that we are unable to play our scheduled shows this weekend because Stephen has fallen sick," the band announced, after unexpectedly canceling a show in Hamel, Minn. "He saw a doctor while here in Minnesota who put him on seven days of vocal rest to allow his voice to heal. As many of you know, we would do everything possible to avoid canceling shows but, at this point, we have to do what's best for Stephen's health."

The guys added that their fans were an important part of why they decided to postpone upcoming gigs. "We would hate to try and push through and put on a sub-par performance while at the same time injuring his voice," they continued. "It's our desire to have a long career filled with thousands more shows for you, our fans. We cannot do this without y'all and we love you for all of the support that you've shown us and will hopefully continue to show us! We are best friends and brothers and will be doing this together for as long as you will continue to listen to us and support us."

The trio, who joined Tim McGraw on his recent Southern Voice tour, may be taking a few days off, but they're moving full-speed ahead on new music, in spite of losing their record label, the recently-closed Lyric Street. "We're in the studio right now," Stephen tells The Boot. "We're writing and trying to put together a new batch of music and will see, based on that, who is interested in what we're doing and where our next home is going to be. It's scary and it's also exciting. But it's mostly exciting. There's going to be new excitement and its going to be a good year. It's going to be invigorating. It's encouraging also that we're still booking shows and we're still staying active without management. We're still doing things and selling out. We're very optimistic about the future."

The band hope to be able to resume touring in a few weeks. Check their schedule here.