Rage Against the Machine's thrice-postponed Minneapolis concerts are now canceled

Frontman Zack de la Rocha's leg injury forced the cancellations of all their 2023 shows.

October 5, 2022 at 12:59PM
Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine injured his Achilles tendon during the band’s Chicago concert in July. (Rob Grabowski, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

After three postponements going back more than two years, Rage Against the Machine has canceled its pair of sold-out Target Center shows and the rest of its tour rescheduled for 2023.

The band broke the bad news to fans Tuesday via social media, blaming it on the bad break frontman Zack de la Rocha suffered in his leg last year during the second show of the band's first tour in over a decade. De la Rocha performed subsequent shows from a chair.

"I have a [severe] tear in my left Achilles tendon and only 8% of my tendon was left intact," the vocalist wrote in a post in which he sounded as frustrated as fans about the cancellations.

"Two years of waiting through the pandemic, hoping we would have an opening to be a band again and continue the work we started 30 some odd years ago. Rehearsing, training, reconciling, working our way back to form. Then one and a half shows into it and my tendon tears."

Twin Cities fans who bought tickets online way back in February 2020 — when Rage's tour was first announced — will be automatically refunded, and others can seek refunds in person at point of purchase.

After the three delays due to ongoing COVID worries, the two concerts had finally been set for March 19-20 with openers Run the Jewels. Getting a couple RTJ dates in lieu of the Rage gigs certainly would help ease many fans' disappointment.

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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