Barry Manilow walks off stage in Vegas just hours after triumphant return
Pop legend Barry Manilow’s long-anticipated return to stage has been short-lived after he walked off mid performance at his second show.
Manilow, 83, returned to thunderous applause in Las Vegas on Thursday night (Friday AEDT), but just 24 hours later, he stopped his second after a couple of songs.
Manilow has cancelled further shows after just one full night back on stage. Getty
He has now cancelled a planned Saturday (Sunday AEDT) performance.
“After a triumphant welcome-back concert on Thursday, Barry got hit with bronchitis and had to cancel his Friday and Saturday shows,” representatives for the musician and the International Theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino told Variety.
Manilow had started his show on Friday, but it ended after just two songs.
He had joked to the audience, “talk among yourselves”, before departing the stage.
While his band continued playing to fill time, Manilow never returned, and Ticketmaster is issuing automatic refunds to fans in the crowd.
Just a day earlier, he had celebrated the end of a six-week hiatus which came after mystery health issues following a cancer diagnosis.
“This is the first time back in a long time. I have some medical problems, but I’m back.” he told his audience.
Manilow has been recovering from lung cancer, which he publicly revealed in December.
The cancer was discovered while he was recovering from an earlier bout of bronchitis.
The Copacabana singer’s Las Vegas latest stint at his long-running residency was set to begin in February, but was postponed multiple times before resuming in July.
Manilow’s grand return has been cut short. Instagram/@jpasc24
He took a break in August after suffering technical and vocal issues, saying in a statement, “it seems that we were pushing a little too hard.”
Manilow still has a busy schedule for the rest of 2026 and into 2027, with his The Hits Come Home! residency scheduled to continue on October 15, with dates through to April next year.
