SAN DIEGO — Veteran rockabilly trio the Stray Cats won’t be hitting the road for its 2025 fall concert tour after all.

Citing “serious illness,” the band’s guitarist-singer, Brian Setzer, announced Tuesday morning the cancellation of the entire 21-city tour. Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.

“I’m heartbroken to share, due to serious illness, I am unable to perform and very regrettably have to cancel our Stray Cats tour,” Setzer, 66, said in a statement released Tuesday morning.

“I know this affects so many people and I am devastated to have to deliver this news. I’ve been trying everything I can to go on and do these shows, but it is just not possible. I’ve been looking forward so much to being on stage with my band mates again and playing for all of our amazing fans, and I’m gutted.”

The tour would have been the first by the Stray Cats since last summer. In February, Setzer disclosed he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was no longer able to play guitar.

The disease, which he has not specifically identified, appeared to have struck him toward the end of last year’s Stray Cats’ tour when his hand repeatedly cramped and he found it increasingly challenging to play guitar.

“There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play,” he wrote in a February social media post. “I have seen some progress in that I can hold a pen and tie my shoes. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I was at a point where I couldn’t even do that.

“Luckily, I have the best hospital in the world down the block from me. It’s called the Mayo Clinic. I know I will beat this, it will just take some time.” In a subsequent post in late March, Setzer wrote that he was making “excellent” progress.

The Stray Cats’ 2025 fall tour was scheduled to kick off with shows this past Saturday and Sunday in Michigan and Illinois. Both were quietly shelved last week.

Setzer is a longtime solo recording artist for Surfdog, the Encinitas-based label that in 2019 released the Stray Cats’ 40th anniversary album, “40.” Last Friday saw the release of two new recordings by the band, an original composition, “Stampede,” and a cover version of Eddie Cochran’s 1959 song, “Teenage Heaven.”

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