Barry Manilow postpones Lexington concert: Here is why

Barry Manilow cancelled his Lexington, Ky., concert just before it was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

On August 4, Manilow took to his official X handle, but he didn’t explain the exact reason for postponing the concert: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s show in Lexington has been rescheduled”.

The “Copacabana” singer had previously been scheduled to perform at Rupp Arena in Lexington on March 9, but the show was postponed while he underwent treatment for lung cancer, according to local NBC affiliate LEX News.

Manilow shared more details about his cancer treatment journey and how it changed his relationship with music in his exclusive cover story with PEOPLE in March. “You just don’t even think about it,” Manilow said of his stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis. “And suddenly, you have lung cancer. But I’m still here. I’m not all here; there’s part of me that isn’t here. They took out a part of me, and now I’ve got to figure out, ‘What do I do?’”

In November 2025, Manilow visited his doctor for hip pain and underwent an MRI of his pelvis and lungs after suffering two rounds of bronchitis. His doctor then diagnosed him with lung cancer.

“If he hadn’t done that, man … He saved my life, because there were no symptoms for what I had,” Manilow previously told PEOPLE of the pivotal moment. “I could go on, nothing hurt, but they found the dot in my lung,” Manilow says. “They called me and said, ‘Could be cancer.’ That’s a bad word. ‘Not me. F— you. I can’t have cancer.’”

The Grammy winner credited his husband and manager Garry Kief for supporting him in his journey to reclaim his voice as he embarked on his cancer treatment journey.

“It has really, really made me take stock of my life,” the Tony winner told PEOPLE. “This made me stop and think about: Have I done what I wanted to do, and have I made people happy? Have I been a good friend? All of those cornball things that I’ve read for all of my life, I started to think about that, too. It really did stop me in my tracks.”

“And the answers are yes,” he added. “And as a matter of fact, there are more yeses than I ever thought.”

Manilow released his 33rd studio album, What A Time, on June 5. The lead single, “Once Before I Go,” became a top 10 hit in March ahead of the album’s release.