Canadian music icon Buffy Sainte-Marie has announced that she’s retiring from live performances.
A statement announcing her decision cites factors including travel-induced health concerns and performance-inhibiting physical challenges.
“I have made the difficult decision to pull out of all scheduled performances in the foreseeable future. Arthritic hands and a recent shoulder injury have made it no longer possible to perform to my standards. Sincere regrets to all my fans and family, my band and the support teams that make it all possible.”
The singer-songwriter suggested in September that her performances in Ottawa and Vancouver were part of what she said was “probably going to be her last tour.”
She was supposed to headline the Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival on August 12. The festival’s organizers have since replaced her with the American indie-folk band Fleet Foxes.
Sainte-Marie, in an interview with The Canadian Press at the time, said she was cutting back on flying after a rough summer that included a bout with COVID-19 and being stranded at the airport at least twice as airlines experienced countless delays and cancellations.
The 82-year-old Cree artist and activist has roots in the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan and was adopted by an American family in Massachusetts.
In 1982, Sainte-Marie became the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar as co-writer of “Up Where We Belong” for “An Officer and a Gentleman.”
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